Always a Walker
by Will of the Abyss - AllenxRoad
Summary: When Allen was little, he never went to a circus or met Mana. Instead, the Earl took him in. Which means Mana's still alive. There's no Curse, no scar, no white hair and no mask for Allen to hide behind. AU. Sorry, no pairings, but you get a 10 year old Allen!
1. Chapter 1: The Boy

**Abyss-chan here with my next multi-chap fic! A very large plot bunny (more like a plot kangaroo) came into my room in the middle of the night and woke me up, telling me to type an outline for this story. I'm pretty happy with my ideas, and I'm already planning a sequel.**

**So, tell me what you think of the first chapter!**

**Disclaimer: No, I don't own D. Gray-man, and I definitely don't own Allen or the Noah. If I did, then Allen would have become a Noah back in the Timothy arc and he's be sharing candy with Road every chapter while torturing Chaoji and Leverrier.**

* * *

A young boy peeked out of darkness of the wet alley, and scanned the street. He could only see two people still outside in the rain, both on the left side of the road. One of them was a man holding a black umbrella and walking briskly in the opposite direction of the boy, and the other person was a homeless person like the boy. He wasn't fooled though. That man seemed weak and pitiful, but the boy had received many beatings from that man.

On the right side, the road faded off into the darkness, with street lamps dotting the curb. The boy focused on the closed stall only a little more than 100 feet away form him.

It started raining almost an hour, and the boy had waited until the streets were virtually empty to emerge. The owner of the stall had closed up shop an just as the sprinkling started, so he could get out of the rain before it pouring, like it was now.

The boy observed that the man had thrown out many vegetables and other produce that had fallen off the cart in his hurry, and the trashcan was still next to the stall, still holding the fallen food. The boy didn't care that the food was possibly dirty. You can't afford to be picky when you're starving. Which was what the boy was.

He'd been homeless as long as he could remember, and there was hardly a day his stomach wasn't grumbling. No matter what food he found, the awful, gnawing feeling stayed at the pit of his stomach, urging him to continue looking for food.

When he was little, maybe four or younger, he used to do as others did, and beg at street corners, but he was beaten by other homeless men every time he showed himself on the streets. They accused him of hogging all the money, and forcing richer citizens to give him money. It was honest begging, the boy swore, but they ignored him. It got so bad, he stumbled out of town, bleeding heavily and walked all the way down to a different town. It wasn't long before people started to hate him there too, so he moved on. He'd been to too many towns to count, and each time he was sent away or beaten close to death.

He found that the beatings were worse once people discovered the freakish qualities of his left arm. The moment his stolen glove fell off, people would pull his sleeve up and gasp at the rough, ugly skin. They would scream and call him devil child, stopping only to find a weapon to beat him with. Each time this happened, they would strike his arm and head, bruising and cutting his body until he passed out or they lost interest. A few times, people had tried to throw him into rivers, but each time, he found himself washed up on the shore, still breathing. He wasn't even trying to live anymore; he'd already given up on life, but it seemed like something was keeping him alive each time.

Usually, his wounds would become infected or unclean, and he'd spend days just laying still, struggling to breathe and keep his eyes open. Surprisingly, after a couple days of waiting and suffering, the wounds closed and began to heal, though no one had treated him. This used to confuse his young mind, but know, he learned not to question it, since it kept him alive. He didn't really care if he lived or died, but it was wonderful to feel the relief after a hard beating, and get the chance to take a peaceful nap.

Since he'd been homeless, he learned three things: How to find food without begging for money, How to stay away from other people, and How to escape a tricky situation. With two years of practice, he'd learned how to squirm out of a person's grip and run away to the next town. There was less and less injuries on his body each month.

He eyed the trash can hungrily, but he was cautious, and took another look at the other direction. The hurried man was gone, but the homeless man stayed, staring blankly at a lit window, probably watching a warm fire on the inside, imagining what it would be like to be inside. The boy understood the want. He'd never been inside a building before. The closet he got to a building was the time he hid in a tool shed on the edge of a town to escape an angry mob that was looking to burn him. He had fallen asleep, and the owner found him in the morning. They shooed him off, swinging a broom at his back, pushing him away.

Convinced the man was busy in his own thoughts, he tiptoed out of the empty alley onto the sidewalk. Luckily for him, the food was the opposite of the man, so he crept away as quickly as he could, keeping to the shadows. Then the hard part came. He had to cross the street. It was likely the movement would catch the man's eye, so he had to go slow and quietly so as to not draw attention to himself.

Taking a deep breath, he stuck his foot out of the shadows, not taking his eyes off the man. He kept moving, pulling his whole body out of the darkness. His wet auburn hair shined in the lamp light, and made the rain drops twinkle, but it wasn't bright enough to attract attention.

The boy took five steps forward, making it to the halfway point in the road. He kept his eyes glued to the man, biting his lip to keep himself from breathing too hard. He took another step. Two more. One more.

Suddenly, he heard a sound and his head quickly turned to look ahead of him. The moment he saw a black cloak, he walked right into it. The man wearing the coat grunted and looked down to see the boy fallen over on the ground, squirming to get up. Eventually he got up, and he brushed his butt off. The boy looked fearfully up at the curious man, a frightened frown across his features.

"Hey, devil, is that you?" The boy snapped his back to the man to see him staring hatefully their direction. His eyes narrowed on the boy's short form and grumbled.

"Get away from 'im, devil child! I reckon you're trying to rob him, aren't ye?" The man shouted, hobbling his direction. His dirty blanket fell on the ground, revealing his tattered clothes and dirty face. The well-dressed man watched the scene with a vague amusement. The boy was staring at the homeless man, frozen in place. Suddenly, he found control of his legs and ran across the street, back into the alley way. The man shouted at his retreating figure, and raised his fist, but he made no move to follow him, but continued to hobble to the other man.

"I'm mighty sorry sir yeh had to deal with that little vermin. I hope yer stuff ain't stolen. Didn't he dirty up yer fancy coat?" The man asked, buttering up his words. It was obvious he was looking for a reward. The man smirked.

"Who was that boy?"

"He's a devil child. He's got a disfigured arm and he's always tryin' to steal food from people. He's no good. Heaven knows I've tried ta teach 'im a lesson, but even with a cut from the shoulder down, tha' boy's still out there, bein' a nuisance. I've been keepin' an eye out for 'im to protect you busy citizens from his rotten acts." The man chuckled and rubbed his belly. The other man smiled pleasantly, and pulled a velvet sack from his pant pocket. He held it out for the man to take.

"Thank you sir, for your assistance. Please take this as a token of my appreciation." The man eyed the sack excitedly, quickly reaching out his hand to snatch it away. Once the bag was his, he bowed low and relayed his gratitude loudly. The man nodded and turned the other direction, adjusting his hat to keep the rain off his face.

The homeless man rushed off to find his blanket again. When he sat down, and buried himself in the damp, smelly quilt he'd scavenged, he practically ripped open the bag to count his earnings. To his shock, the inside was filled with multiple pieces of bubble gum and suckers. The man howled and looked up to find the man, but he was already gone, with no trace he was there at all.

* * *

The man snickered when he heard the angry howl in the distance. His trick had been discovered. He reached into his coat and pulled out a bright pink umbrella and spun it around.

"Waahhh! Earl-tama, you're making me dizzy!" The pumpkin at the tip shouted.

"Shh, Lero, we're going to go find that boy." The umbrella flew bent back to look at the Earl quizically, but he only found a smirk and mischievous eyes.

"Why do you want to find him, Earl-tama, lero?" The Earl chuckled heartily.

"He's a funny little thing. I'd like to meet this 'Devil Child'" The Earl replied. "He went down this alley, correct?" The Earl pondered. Without waiting for an answer, the Earl spun Lero around once and stepped into the dark alley, letting his eyes adjust to the light.

Looking around, he found a dreary looking alley, with soggy boxes and empty bottles lining the corners of the small street. He could tell there must've been someone living there, or still was. Lain on top flat pieces of cardboard, was a moth-eaten sheet. It looked vaguely like a bed, but without the mattress, pillow, or blanket. From the size, he assumed it was the boy's bed. He must be around somewhere.

"Little boy, come out, come out!" The Earl called playfully. "I have some candy for you!" The Earl laughed to himself and pulled out a lollipop from his coat, displaying it to the darkness.

His trick worked like a charm, as the young boy shuffled out from behind a pile of trash bags, looking hopefully at the lollipop.

"Come over here, boy, this is for you." But the boy stopped ten feet away. He suddenly shivered and looked cautiously at his scruffy face.

"Don't you want it?" The Earl asked, his grin never fading. The boy nodded enthusiastically, but he made no move to retrieve it. The Earl took a step closer, and the boy mimicked him, and stepped back as well. The Earl stared blankly before chuckling.

"Do you not trust me?" The boy shook his head. The Earl's chuckled turned into a laugh. This boy was interesting.

"But what do you have to loose?"

"You could hurt me." The boy whispered, playing with the mitten on his left hand.

"I promise I won't. Right Lero?" The Earl held up his pink umbrella for the boy to see.

"Of course not! Earl-tama wouldn't hurt you, lero!" The umbrella shouted. The boy gasped, his cautious eyes turning to wonder.

"'Ow does he talk?" He wondered aloud.

"He's my friend. He'd be your friend too if you took this candy." The boy raised his eyebrow, but one look at Lero pushed him forward. He slowly reached out for the offered lollipop. The Earl squatted and held his palm out. Eventually, the boy found the courage to take the lollipop. He looked gratefully at the Earl. Without hesitation, he held the lollipop with his left hand and tried to remove the wrapper, but his left arm was numb and mostly unresponsive, like usual, and he dropped the lollipop on the ground. For a moment, the alley was silent, but suddenly, the boy burst into tears. He knelt to the ground and picked up the lollipop. The wrapper was now soggy and the lollipop was cracked. The paper easily opened, and the broken pieces dropped onto his mitten. Sniffling, he brought the pieces to his mouth. Just as he was about to scarf down the pieces, the Earl gently took his arm and stopped him. The boy jumped and everything fell to the ground. He yelped and yanked his hand out of the Earl's grip, backing away. In the commotion, his mitten fell into a puddle.

"Boy, I was merely going to give you a new one. You'll get sick if you eat that. I've got plenty more." The Earl said, reaching into his pocket again and pulling out three more lollipops. This time, though, the boy stayed away, holding his left hand behind his back, staring distrustfully at the offered candy. The Earl pushed his hand out, holding up all three lollipops, but the boy just took another step back. Unfortunately, he tripped over a piece of trash and landed on his back. Lero gasped and flew over, going to check on the boy.

"Ne, are you alright, lero?" Instead of the answer, the boy moaned painfully. The Earl narrowed his eyes, and looked closer. Beneath the boy's head was a shattered glass bottle. He suddenly noticed the puddle of blood mixing with the rain.

"Hmm, Lero, it seems we'll be taking this boy home tonight."

"Mistress Road will be excited." Lero commented lamely. The Earl shuffled over and gathered the boy up int his arms, careful not to disturb the wounds. The boy's left hand dangled off to the side. The Earl looked curiously at it and grinned like a madman at his find.

"It seems we'll be keeping this boy for a very long time." The Earl said. Lero followed the Earl's gaze and gasped.

"But Earl-tama-"

"Let's hurry, the boy's bleeding, remember?" The Earl chuckled. Walking deeper into the shadows, he came across a checkered door. Lero knocked his head against it, and it opened wide.

* * *

**Allen**

The boy felt himself get picked up by the mysterious man, but he made no struggle. His head was throbbing and could feel the blood dripping down to his neck. Now he was going to have to deal with bloody clothes later. If there was a later.

He didn't know where the man was taking him, but he was scared. His thoughts were blurred by the pain, but he was vaguely worried the man would see his arm. He needed to find a way to get away before he was beaten again.

Suddenly, his thoughts were broken by a very high pitched voice.

"What's wrong? Who is that boy? Is he alright? Millennie, he's adorable! Can we keep him? Wait, is that- how did you find him? He's mine!" The boy looked around to see a small girl with spiky blue hair staring at him with molten gold eyes. Another confusing thing was her unnaturally gray skin. Her forehead was lined with seven crosses that unnerved the boy.

"Road, would you call Lulubell and Tyki-pon?" The man asked. The girl, name Road, nodded and suddenly a checkered door appeared and opened next to her. A few seconds later, two people walked out of it.

"What do you want Road?" A man asked. Allen noticed he also had gray skin and golden eyes. The women seemed to have them too. Road didn't say anything, but pointed to the Earl and his burden.

"Master, what are you doing with this boy?" The women asked.

"Lulubell, this is a very special boy. We will be keeping here with us. Would you treat his head injury." The women, Lulubell, scanned the boy and he eyes landed on his hand. A flicker of understanding passed through her and she walked over and pulled the boy into her arms.

"Road, open a door to my room." The checkered door that had appeared closed and opened again.

"Done." Lulubell walked into the door, leading the line of people behind her into her room too.

The boy found himself in a lavishly decorated room. Gold trim lined the ceiling and floor, and fancy gold curtains covered the window. The carpet was a dark red, which complemented the cream-colored walls.

A large canopy draped with black curtains sat in the middle of the room, the head of the bed against the wall. The poles on the four corners were painted gold like the trim. On top of it's black blankets, sat a fluffy cat bed, which was also black. Lulubell walked over to the bed, and set the boy down, nudging the cat bed aside. She didn't seem to mind that his blood was staining her pillows. Instead, she reached into her night stand, and pulled out a roll of bandages, a white cloth, and a bottle of alcohol.

"Tyki, get me a towel. Road, I'd like a bowl of water." Both nodded, and walked off with their goals in mind. In the meantime, the Earl watched fro the foot of the bed as Lulubell rolled Allen over and spread his auburn hair apart, studying the cuts. Within a minute, both Road and Tyki were back.

"Tyki, I'm going to lift his head, and I want you to put the towel underneath. Road, come set that water on the table." Her words were followed, and she set to work. Soaking the cloth in alcohol, she brought the dripping cloth to his head and rung the alcohol over the wounds. The boy winced and started to sniffle, but he tried to keep silent.

She waited a few seconds as the alcohol cleaned the dirt and washed the blood away. When she looked closer, she noticed a small shard of glass stuck in one of the cuts. She carefully leaned forward and pulled the shard out. The boy didn't even feel it. She dropped the shard next to the bowl of water and set back to work. Pouring more alcohol on the cloth, she began dabbing his head lightly. Each time she touched him, he flinched, and if you looked at his face, you'd see tears falling silently.

She gently washed the blood away and pressed the cloth to his head. After a few moments, she pulled away and was satisfied to see the cuts no longer bleeding. She rinsed the alcohol soaked cloth in the water, and brought the cloth back to wash away the alcohol. Eventually, she finished and she made him sit up. She wrapped the top of his head up, and then picked him and set him on the ground to stand on his own.

He wobbled for a second, feeling unsteady, but then he froze in place and looked around. Everyone's eyes were on him. He looked down and remembered that his hand was showing. He squealed and dropped to the ground, pulling his legs to his chest with his right hand, and hiding his left hand between his legs and body.

"Are you alright?" Road asked. The boy nodded, and stared at the floor.

"Boy, do you still want that candy?" Road's eyes turned to the Earl, but she was disappointed when he wasn't offering her candy. He held out a lollipop with a purple wrapper, that happened to be Road's favorite flavor.

"Millennie! I want candy!"

"Road, this is for the boy." Road crossed her arms and pouted, but she watched to see if the boy would accept.

"Take it, boy." The boy looked longingly at it, but he shook his head and buried his face in his knees.

Why were they being nice? They shouldn't the be hitting him already? He deserved it anyway. He was intruding in their home, where ever they were, and causing them trouble. He didn't need help. He was fine by himself. He was safe by himself. That was it. They must be trying to trick him. He wouldn't accept their hospitality. He wasn't supposed to have any kindness. He'd always been a devil child. Right?

"What's his name?" Tyki asked. The Earl shrugged.

"I dunno. I didn't ask."

"Shounen, what's your name?" The boy looked up and got caught in Tyki's stare. He was going to hide in his legs again, but Tyki somehow held him in place. It was partly because the boy felt terrified looking into his golden eyes.

"Nuthin'" He whispered.

"Huh?" Road asked.

"It would seem he doesn't have a name." The Earl chuckled. "We should give him one." The boy's eyes widened and he looked at the Earl. He'd never had a name before. It was only devil-child, no matter where he went. People called him vermin, boy, rat, brat, or any vile thing that came to mind. He always thought his name must've been something like devil child, since everyone called him that.

"But, I got no name. You can't give me one." He said.

"Why not?" The Earl asked.

"'Cause yer supposed to get a name when yer born, but I never got one, so now I can't have a name. Only a mama or papa can name someone." He insisted. The Earl laughed, and Road joined in, giggling.

"Well how about I be your father then?" The Earl offered. The boy's mouth dropped.

"But I don't have a papa."

"That's while I'll be your 'papa'"

"Then whose my mama?"

"Who ever you'd like."

"But I can't pick ma parents! Yer parents are who made ya."

"Well your parents weren't very good parents, were they? So I'm going to be your parent instead." The Earl finished. "That means I can name you." The boy didn't see the logic in the Earls words, but he decided not to argue.

Suddenly, Road jumped and ran over to the Earl, whispering in his ear.

"Hmm, I think that's good. Are you ready to hear your name?" The boy couldn't help but nod.

"Allen." They boy tested the word on his tongue silently, judging it. He liked it.

"It suits him." Tyki said.

"Doesn't it?" Road asked.

"Well, lets introduce ourselves. I'm the Millennium Earl. You can call me papa." The Earl grinned and took off his top hat, bowing.

"I'm Road Kamelot! I'm your big sister!"

"My name's Tyki Mikk. I can be whatever, I guess."

"Tyki, your his uncle! If he's my brother, than you have to be his uncle." Tyki sighed and pulled out a cigarette. Lulubell walked over and knocked it out of his hand.

"Not in my room." Tyki sighed again. Lulubell turned to Allen and bowed slightly.

"I'm Lulubell." She didn't offer any title for herself.

"Lulubell's your aunt." Road whispered. Lulubell's fingers twitched, but she made no comment."

"There are four other people here at the moment. Sheryl, Skinn, Jasdero, and Debitto. You'll meet them later. Actually, you can meet them tonight if you'd like." Allen shook his head.

"Ne, Millennie, where is he going to sleep?" Road asked. The Earl hummed.

"Hmm, Allen-chan, we don't have a room for you yet, so who would you like to sleep with?" Allen looked around at the people in the room. The Earl was out. He was a little strange, though Allen did feel the most comfortable with him. Still, it'd be too weird. Tyki looked scary. Road was jumping up and down excitedly, staring at Allen, waiting for him to pick her.

"Umm, I wanna sleep with a-a-aunt L-Lulu." Allen had forgotten her name. He just remembered Lulu and that he was his "aunt". Everyone turned to look at Lulubell, who was studying Allen. Eventually, she nodded and Road sighed.

"Fine. But you're sleeping with me tomorrow." Road said.

"Alright, let's leave. I'll tell the others about our new guest." The Earl grinned, and walked away, using Lero as a cane. Road and Tyki followed, leaving Allen alone with Lulubell. Allen suddenly felt nervous.

"I'll change out the pillow case. You get out of your clothes." Allen blushed and stayed still. Lulubell sighed and went to take off the pillow case. When she was done replacing it, she looked at the blushing Allen.

"I'll be back." She walked to her door, and opened it, but she didn't leave. Sitting in front of the door was a folded pair of pajamas. She bent over and picked them up. She walked over and set them down on the floor, but Allen didn't move. Lulubell made no noise, and crouched down. She reached out and touched Allen's button on his coat. He flinched, and pushed himself away, but his back hit the bed. Lulubell was still for a second, before continuing. Allen warily watched her unbutton each button, and eventually, she pulled the coat off. Allen was wearing a dirty white turtle neck sweater underneath. Lulubell pulled that off, revealing his skin. Allen desperately tried to hide his left arm, but Lulubell didn't even look at it.

She put her hands under his armpits, and lifted him up. Now he was standing and she was level with his chest. She reached for his pants, but Allen lightly grabbed her hand with his right hand, and blushed. Lulubell wordlessly put on the pajama shirt. Luckily for Allen, it was big on him, and covered his hand, but it also went down to his knees. After buttoning up the front, Lulubell pulled down his pants. His privates were covered by the shirt, so Allen felt relived, though the blush was still prominent. She grabbed the pajama bottoms, and held them up for him to step into. When they were on, she pulled the string and tied a tight bow to keep them from falling.

"You'll take a bath tomorrow." Allen nodded, secretly excited. He climbed up on the bed, having a bit of trouble, since he was so short, but he eventually made it on. He turned to watch Lulubell.

She was walking around, extinguishing the lights, until the room was finally dark. A bit of light came from the window, but the black curtains blocked most of it.

She gave him one look before something strange happened. She shrunk down and black fur grew out from her skin. Suddenly, standing on the floor, was a black cat with a white cross on it's forehead. Allen was too shocked to say anything. The cat jumped on the bed and settled into it's bed at Allen's feet. Allen stared for a second until one eye opened at stared back. Allen instantly looked away, caught. Allen curled up under the blankets.

Maybe he would stay for a while. He'd finally found a family after all.

* * *

**Lulubell**

The boy curled under the blankets. Lulubell could almost feel his emotions with her cat senses. He was very nervous. She could practically hear his heart beat. Eventually, he calmed down and she could tell he was sleeping. Taking this advantage, she stood up and walked across the blankets to study the boy.

His auburn hair was very messy and dirty, but with some cleaning, it would be soft and shiny. She noticed many healing cuts and bruises, along with scars just on his neck alone. Nudging the blanket with her nose, Lulubell played with the top button until it finally came undone. She peeked at the top of his chest, and frowned at the multitude of scrapes. Faint bruises decorated his skin everywhere. Lulubell had noticed them when she was changing him, but he would have been uncomfortable with her staring.

The next thing that caught her interest, was his hand. She walked over to his hand, which was resting on top of the blanket. She sniffed it and grimaced. Innocence was annoying. She stared for a long time at the red skin. The green cross embedded in the top of his hand was dark. He probably had never used it before. Lulubell wondered what the boy would be told. It was likely the Earl wouldn't tell the whole story to the boy. He was impressionable, but everyone, no matter how rude, usually has some sort of morals.

She wondered how young he was. He looked small, maybe five. But he seemed smarter than a five year old. He could be six, but if he was, he was very short for his age. He probably didn't know either. He didn't even have a name before tonight.

Lulubell thought to her self about the boy for many more minutes, but then decided to go to sleep. She cuddled up in her bed, and closed her eyes. Just before she fell asleep, Allen shifted and made a quiet moan. Lulubell peeked at Allen to see he was sweating profusely and squirming in his spot. A frown had formed and he looked close to tears. Lulubell carefully stood up and walked up to Allen's face. Nudging him with her nose, he woke up. Allen looked at Lulubell's cat face and smiled faintly. Allen wrapped his arms around her middle and pulled her close. Lulubell was going to worm her way out, but Allen ended up letting go anyway. Instead, he settled for stroking her neck, occasionally scratching behind the ears. Lulubell purred and promptly cuddled next to Allen's stomach. It was out of character for her, but Allen seemed like he needed it anyway.

Allen fell asleep first, with his hand still on her back. Lulubell didn't bother moving, since he was warm. In the morning, she'd pretend nothing happened. Nothing at all.

* * *

**Cut! So here's chapter one! It's longer than I thought it would be, but I don't think you mind, do you? Remember how I said in Innocent Monster that I would be taking a break from writing multi-chap fics for a week or two or more? Hah, yeah, I decided that I get bored if I'm not writing, so here's a whole other story starting less than a week from my last one. :D**

**Please leave review! I hope to see some of my fanfic friends on this chapter! I already miss my reviewers from Innocent Monster!**

**Abyss-chan out~!**


	2. Chapter 2: New Mission

**I couldn't wait to start writing the next chapter, but I had a fever for a while, so I didn't want to do stuff like move or think (Too bad for me, I still had to go to school and go to band practice). I've also been car shopping with my family, so I've been thinking a lot about new cars. :D Remember, Allen will be OOC because he's got his "Red" personality without Mana. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the sweet, wonderful, amazing, gentlemanly, adorable Allen, nor any of the epic Noah, but I _do_ love them all.**

* * *

"Shounen, focus."

"But Tyki, there's a bagel bakery over there!"

"Do you want me to do your mission for you while you go pig yourself?" Tyki asked sarcastically. He sighed when he saw Allen was actually considering it. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed and he shook his head.

"No, I can to do it myself." Tyki rolled his eyes at Allen's stubbornness. It was always like that. Ever since gave him his own mission a month ago, Allen was arrogantly proud about it.

"Do you even remember what you're supposed to do?"

"Easy, sneak up on the finders, and steal the innocence. Easy as pie. Speaking of, I want some after this." Allen didn't wait for an answer before jumping into a tree as quickly as a cat. He crept across the branches, finding the quietest, and easiest path. He recalled his training with Lululbell and Tyki from over the past four years. Lulubell always told him to think like a cat stalking it's pray. That's how every assassin succeeded.

The finders were sitting on the ground, eating a snack while they stared intently at the the container in the middle of them all. A black box with a industrial lock was resting in the middle of their triangle, no doubt holding the innocence they had been lucky to find. They were waiting for an exorcist to arrive and take it back to the order. According to the report from the Akuma, the exorcist was supposed to arrive today, so this was Allen's chance to steal it before an exorcist showed up.

Allen shifted his arm, and three knives fell into his hands, one for each exorcist. Allen calculated the distance between him and the finders, and moved his fingers, expertly aiming the knives at their throats. With a quick check to make sure he was completely concealed to any outsiders, Allen flicked his wrists, sending the knives flying to their mark. At the same time, each knife buried itself into the side of each man's neck, causing the men to fall over. Allen smirked, and lithely jumped out of the tree, landing neatly on the ground next to the dead men. Another perfectly executed mission.

"Grab the innocence, Shounen."

"Aren't you going to complement me on my performance."

"No." Tyki responded bluntly. Allen shrugged and stepped over a bleeding body to grab the handle of the box. Allen reached into his pocket with his right hand, pulling out a lock pick. He unlocked the lock in under ten seconds, and opened it to reveal a necklace with a glowing green gem on it's charm. Allen turned around and held the box out to Tyki, who was standing behind him. Tyki glared at the necklace and touched it with one finger. Instantly, the jewel exploded into green dust, ending the existence of that particular piece of innocence. They both looked at Allen's left arm expectantly, but nothing happened. It wasn't the heart.

"Pie?" Allen asked. Tyki sighed and nodded, gesturing to leave the empty box behind. Allen cheered and skipped ahead of Tyki, heading what he thought was the direction of the town.

"You're going the wrong way, Shounen." Allen twitched and froze in his spot. With as much dignity as he could muster, he spun around, and began adjusting his coat absently.

"I meant to do that."

"Whatever you say."

"I didn't! I was just running in excitement! I wasn't actually going to the town. The town's actually that way." Allen pointed to a random direction. Tyki snickered and shook his head.

"That's not the way either." Allen slumped and then trudged behind Tyki.

"Just lead the way." Tyki decided not to antagonize him further.

* * *

**Later**

When they arrived at the bakery, Allen ran inside, shouting out all the things he would eat. Tyki followed him in shortly after, and wasn't surprised to see Allen already sitting at a table and ordering. The waiter looked hassled, probably confused that a ten year old buy was ordering so much food. Tyki walked over, and sat across from Allen. The waiter looked at him pleadingly as Allen continued to list off everything on the menu. Tyki just smiled innocently and shrugged. Eventually Allen finished, and the waitress shuffled off, looking shell-shocked.

"Hey Tyki, do you think the exorcist will cry when he or she sees the dead finders?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Because I think that would be funny." Allen said, smiling with both eyes closed. Tyki considered the question.

"Well, there is a little girly at the Black Order that would probably cry. She's new to the order, I think. I know there's another little kid, but he's mean and serious all the time." Allen crinkled his nose.

"_Boring!_" For the next half hour, Allen quizzed Tyki on the exorcists, and what their personalities were. Of course, Tyki didn't know much, since the Noah had remained hidden for the past hundred years or more, and hadn't bothered to interact with the exorcists openly. Allen seemed pretty disappointed.

Eventually, Tyki's food came out, but Allen's wasn't due for a while. When the waitress nervously broke the news to Allen, he laughed with Tyki and waved his hand, assuring her he could wait for his food. No sub-human had ever cooked fast enough for him, so he wasn't expecting anything extraordinary. It was likely the food would be undercooked or sloppy in their rush to finish.

When Tyki finished, Allen's food finally came out, being carried by three waiters. Allen sheered gleefully before taking the first bite. Tyki didn't have to wait long for Allen to finish; he was done in under two minutes. Tyki reached into his wallet, and pulled out a wad of cash, not bothering to count. He was sure it was enough. It was probably extra, but the restaurant wouldn't care if they got a bit of change, especially after Allen's meal.

"Alright Shounen, ready to go home? Road will be ecstatic." Tyki commented.

"Eh? I've been gone for only four hours. I doubt she'll miss me that much."

"Would you like to bet on that?"

"No."

"What, do you think I would win?"

"I didn't say that. But this _is_ Road we're talking about, I make it a habit not to bet on her." Tyki laughed, agreeing wholeheartedly.

Allen and Tyki walked back to the forest they had just come from to see if the exorcists had come. Sure enough, the clearing was empty of dead bodies, and the black box was gone as well.

"That was fast." Allen noticed. Tyki shrugged. Why would they want to take a long time to clean up dead bodies?

Farther in the thick trees was Road's door, waiting for them. Allen jumped in first, excited to go back home. No sooner had he made it more than a step in, he was tackled from the side, making him stumble slightly.

"Al~len!" Road exclaimed. She squeezed him in a tight hug and planted kisses on both his cheeks.

"Road! Ew! You're not supposed to kiss me, that's gross! I'm your family!"

"And? A big sister can kiss her little brother all she wants, right?" Road asked.

"Shou~nen"

"Shut up, Tyki. I never agreed to the bet." Allen grumbled, waiting for Road to stop smothering him. Tyki laughed loudly and wondered off, leaving Allen by himself with Road.

"Ne, Allen, did you eat lunch with Tyki?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Oh. I wanted to eat lunch with you. I was waiting until you got back." Road frowned and hugged Allen again. He sighed.

"It's okay Road, you know I can always eat more. I'll come eat with you." Road grinned and pulled him by the wrist, leading him to the dining room. When they ran in, Allen was surprised to see the whole family there. Everyone except Tyki had a plate of food in front of them, apparently freshly cooked.

"Come, sit down Allen-kun, everyone was waiting for you." Allen didn't bother asking how they knew him and Tyki had eaten, or how they knew Allen could still make himself eat more. He just politely pulled his wrist out of Road's grasp and walked to his chair. Allen climbed into it, disappointed when his feet still didn't reach the ground. They never had.

"My family, there is a reason we are joining in a late lunch this afternoon."

"Tyki and Allen were late from their mission?" Debitto asked. Jasdero cackled beside him, and stabbed his fork into the table.

"Allen-kun has another mission." Allen looked up in surprise at the Earl.

"But I just got back from one, and I'm sure Tyki is tired from going on all these missions with me."

"Don't worry, Allen-kun, you'll have a few days to prepare. You'll need it."

"Why?"

"Because this time, you won't be going with Tyki-pon."

"Lulubell?"

"Nope." Allen looked around the table.

"Road?"

"No, Allen-kun, by yourself." The Earl announced. Everyone's movement stilled and any sounds of silverware hitting a plate or chewing was silenced.

"Earl-tama?" Lero questioned from the Earl's shoulder.

"Wa~ah! Millennie, don't make Allen go all by himself! I'll go with him!" Road exclaimed, standing up.

"I'm afraid only Allen-kun can do this mission. I would assign one of you if it weren't for the, _complications_, of this mission." The Earl explained.

"What complications?" Tyki asked.

"There is a certain person I'd like Allen to find and kill."

"And why can't the rest of us do it?" Surprisingly, Lulubell asked. The Earl's grin diminished, turning his face sour.

"This man is very perceptive. He would instantly recognize and escape one of us, but not Allen-kun. Allen-kun is young, and relatively new. Allen-kun can easily get close to him and exploit his weaknesses."

"Who are we talking about?" Tyki asked. The Earl smirked, giving everyone but Allen a meaningful look.

"Mana Walker." Road immediately stepped back, knocking her chair over. The twins dramatically gasped, though they were sincere in their surprise. Lulubell was frozen, practically glaring at a bowl of milk. Sheryl had covered his mouth in shock, a look of hatred passing through his features. Skinn had changed the least, but you could see an angry spark in his eyes, and his fists were clenched. Allen looked around, confused, and waited for someone to explain.

"I see." Tyki finally spoke. Road slowly sat back down, glaring sadly at the floor.

"Why Allen-kun? Can't we all go after him?"

"He's always figured out a way to evade us in the end." Allen thought over this Mana character. Apparently he was someone who could escape the Noah. He was obviously knowledgeable about his family. He couldn't infer much. Was the Earl going to explain?

"Allen-kun, this will be a long-term mission. Can you do that?"

"Wait, Millennie, who is Mana Walker?" Allen asked.

"He's an old enemy of the Noah. We've been on his trail for years, but he's always on the move to evade us. He knows our plans and strategies. But you were a surprise, even to us. He would never guess a child would be a part of our family." Allen allowed himself a faint smile when the Earl called him family. He was proud to be with them, privileged. He was just a dirt-poor orphan the Earl decided to pick up on a whim one night, but now he was practically a Noah, his only flaw was that he was a subhuman.

"No one else is more suited for the job than you." The Earl finished. Allen looked around to his family's opinion, but everyone seemed to be conveniently looking at something else, refusing to even look in his direction. He didn't think he have a choice anyway.

"Um, okay? How long is this long term mission?" Allen asked worriedly.

"I'm not sure about this one, Allen-kun. It will take a while for you to find Mana, but I know you will. And then, you have to gain his trust, or else he'll suspect you, and leave. Once you've done that, you may kill him however you like." Allen shivered at the malice in the Earl's voice. He didn't like the sound of this mission.

"Don't worry, Allen, Millennie said you have a few days to prepare. You can spend them with me before you go on your mission!" Road smiled, lightening the mood. Allen nodded back, but he just went back to slowly chewing his meal.

This wasn't the first time the Earl had hidden something when it was obvious _everyone_ else knew what he was talking about. For example, every time he announced he was going to make more Akuma, Allen would ask him how he went about doing that. Each time, for four years, the Earl had avoided his question. A long time ago, they used to keep it a secret from him that they went on missions and killed people, but inevitably, Allen found out. He wasn't actually too bothered by it. After all, plenty of people had tried to kill him before.

His arm was another mystery. All his life, Allen wondered why it was as it was, and hated it for causing him so much trouble. Before he was trained by the Noah to be an assassin, he could hardly control his own arm. When he'd first arrived, he was just waiting for them to throw him out, or give him dirty looks, but no one seemed to pay it any attention. Allen thought it seemed a bit strange. He once asked the Earl, but he only said it must be some condition. That didn't explain the green cross though.

He'd begun to get used to the secrets, but it irked him when everyone ignored him or treated him like a child. Ten years old was obviously not a child anymore! **(A/N: Whatever helps you sleep at night, Allen)**

"Where am I supposed to start looking for Mana Walker?" Allen asked, deciding to gather more information.

"I will be sending you to The Stepney Green Fair. There will be a variety of circuses there, and you will be investigating each one until you find a man matching the description I'll give you. Immediately report to one of Tyki's Tease the moment you find him, but don't loose him." The Earl explained.

"What does he look like?"

"Mana had messy, brown hair that went to his back last time I saw him. He's got a baby face, with big browns eyes, and he's got girly eyebrows that make his eyes look even bigger. He used to always put his hair up in a white ribbon, but I haven't seen him in a while, so he may be a bit different." Road jumped in. The Earl gave her a strange look that Road returned, making them both look a bit sad.

"Did he used to be a friend or something?" Allen asked, confused at Road's description. Suddenly, The Earl lost his ever-present grin and stood up, grabbing Lero out of the air.

"I'll have to apologize, Allen-kun, my knees are feeling a bit wobbly. I think I might go take a nap." And with that, the Earl waddled out of the room. Allen watched him leave, and sighed. Another secret.

"I think I'm done with lunch. I just ate a snack before I came home." Allen pushed his chair away from the table, and walked out, copying the Earl. Everyone else sat in the dining room until, by some silent agreement, they all left at the same time.

Allen decided he was bored the moment he made it to his room. Usually Road wanted to play with him, or he played poker with Tyki, but he didn't feel like talking or playing, though he still wanted something to do. He circled his room, looking through every drawer and shelf he passed, but anything he saw was too boring. He kind of wanted to spar with some Akuma though. Figuring there was nothing better to do, Allen dressed up in his training outfit that had been hand-crafted by an unwilling Lulubell, and laced his boots. Briefly looking in the mirror, Allen opened his window and jumped out onto the roof right below his window. He carefully climbed his way to the ground, and then ran to the back yard, where an ark gate was hidden behind a large bush. Allen jumped inside, coming out on a white street. He looked up to see dozens of Akuma floating around, either doing a job, or figuring out what to do, because they had no orders.

Allen smirked, and ran towards a wall. Just second before he crashed, he jumped, and kicked himself off the wall and flipped backwards, and hit the other wall. He pushed with both legs and launched himself across the street again, successfully landing on the opposite roof. Ever since Road had taught him the art of wall jumping, he'd never gotten tired of it. It easily cured his bored mind. Now to have some _real_ fun. Allen looked around, and spotted a group of three level two Akuma chatting animatedly above him.

"Yo, you three!" Allen called out. The Akuma stopped, and immediately flew over, recognizing the auburn hair.

"Yes Master Allen?"

"I'm bored, and I want to fight something. Will you be my fighting partners."

"B-But," the middle one started, "The Earl said not to hurt you no matter what."

"Don't worry, you won't hurt me. I'll make sure of that." Allen said, trying to provoke a response.

"But Master-" Allen sighed, disguising the ring of knives being unsheathed from their hidden casing's in his sleeve. Giving the Akuma no chance to run away, Allen jumped on one's back and held a knife up to his throat.

"If I can't kill you and you can't kill me, than why won't you have any fun?" To prove his point, Allen slashed the Akuma's throat, but the bleeding stopped and the black Akuma blood dried and turned into dust. The Akuma holding Allen let out a growl from being cut, but he still refused to attack. Allen pouted and jumped off the Akuma, going to another one's back.

"Will you fight me?" Allen asked childishly. The Akuma gulped, shaking his head. Allen frowned and looked hopefully at the last level two.

"Master Allen, the Earl said-"

"Ugh! You guys are such sticklers!" Allen pounded his fists in a fit on the shoulders of the Akuma carrying him, but still, it refused to attack.

"Fine, I'll go find a level one." Allen pushed the Akuma away and landed on the roof once again. The level two's seemed relieved when they flew away. Now the Earl wouldn't destroy them.

Allen waited for a level one to fly by, but each time one did fly by, it was following a level three on some task. After half an hour of waiting, Allen groaned loudly and jumped off the roof, and grumpily went back through the ark door, completely disappointed. Now he was bored _and_ in a bad mood. Not that he wasn't already in a bad mood from his new mission.

When Allen came back the the Earl's mansion, he decided to go back in through the back door instead of jumping back through his window, because as cool as that would be, he was supposed to be careful not to get spotted by some local who was passing by.

Allen walked into the music room, that happened to be the room the back door was. Allen spotted a black piano sitting in the corner. It was very dusty and probably hadn't been used in years, but Allen found himself going to sit on the bench, his legs swinging off the edge. A book full of pages and pages of music was opened and waiting to be played, but Allen didn't under stand a bit of it. Everything was just a bunch of dots with lines. There were numbers dotting the paper, and italicized words that Allen couldn't pronounce. Music seemed hard.

He ignored the music and thought up his own happy tune, trying to cheer himself up. After humming his tune a few times, Allen poked the piano keys until it sounded like the note he wanted. Allen hummed the next note, and somehow found that quickly. The next parts of the melody were really easy, and Allen found that all his guesses were correct. Eventually, he'd made it through the whole song. Allen tried to recall what he just played, and went back and played it a bit faster. Shocked at his success, Allen did it again, and again, until he was playing the childish song fluently, bouncing while he played. It was probably a simple song, but Allen was proud at playing it in under an hour.

Allen wanted to play something more complicated like the sheet music, but he had no idea how to read the notes. None of it made any sense.

"What are you doing, Allen-kun?" Road skipped in.

"Oh, hi Road. I was bored so I was trying to play the piano."

"You could play with me!"

"But I don't wanna play with you." Allen muttered. Road looked offended, but only for a second before smiling again.

"Then let me hear you play!" Allen gave her a long look to see if she was joking. Road didn't seem patient enough to sit through a whole song, even one as short as his. He shrugged, and twisted back to the piano. It took him a second to find the starting note, but then it was smooth playing from there. Allen glanced at Road during the song to see she was fascinated with Allen's work. This made Allen smile proudly, and play more confidently.

There was a loud applause from Road following the cut off. She ran over to the bench and ruffled Allen's hair and kissed his forehead.

"My little brother's so cute!" Road cheered. Allen leaned away from her sappy kisses and hugs, but Road was relentless in showing him just how cute he was.

"Let's go get Millennie, and you can play for him!" Allen shook his head.

"No Road, I don't wanna play for everyone. You are just lucky, I don't feel like playing anymore." Of course, this was a lie. Allen felt like playing the longest, prettiest song in the world, but he didn't know how. He wondered if he could get a tutor when he got back from his mission, or if he'd be too busy with more missions.

"Aww, I guess you can play later. Want do you want to do?"

"Well, I guess I should get a bag packed for my mission."

"But that's not for a few days!"

"The sooner I get it over with, the more time I have to spend with you later." Road thought on this with an upset frown, but she eventually sighed and gave in.

"Fine, but hurry. I feel like shopping for new clothes." Allen almost groaned. He'd be out for hours. She took almost as long buying clothes as she did candy! Candy always won though, because she was so picky about getting her favorite flavors of everything.

Allen shuffled to his room, looking longingly one last time at the piano, his new friend. Of course, not ten steps later, he was lost, and he hadn't even gotten past two doors. Road was walking behind him, giggling.

"Lost already?"

"No! I just, um, never realized what color the crown molding was. It's a great creamy color, don't you think? Or does it seem golden?" Road laughed louder and grabbed his wrist, guiding him to an open doorway that led to a library. They walked across the room and came out the opposite door. The door on the immediate left was his room.

"I don't know how you'll survive out in the real world if you can't even figure out where your room is. You've lived here for four years!"

"I know, I know. I don't know how to fix it. I can't remember places very well. Everything looks familiar, sort of." Allen scratched his head. "I don't know." Allen finished pathetically.

"So, what are you going to need on this trip?"

"I don't know. Probably clothes."

"I can get you some clothes! I know exactly what you need!" Allen was going to protest to her picking his clothes, but she ran out the room before he could stop her. Allen decided to search for a bag. He was thinking of using a briefcase, but ten year old's didn't carry those around. It was going to be hard acting his age.

Speaking of, what does a ten year old do? Is he some lost rich kid? No, then people would try to help him find his "home" for money. He wished he knew what Mana was like so he could make a plan.

"I'm back!" Road pulled out a bundle of clothes from behind her back, and showed them to Allen. He gasped. They were the clothes the Earl had found him in.

"Why do you have those?"

"I didn't want to get rid of them, because it's what you came in! On this mission, you'll want to be inconspicuous, so I think you should be like you were." Allen frowned, reluctantly remembering living on the street.

"Those probably don't fit anymore. It's been four years."

"Yeah, and you've barely grown. Don't worry, I washed them for you." Road held them out again. Allen grabbed them and shooed Road out of his room to get changed. Once she left to stand by the door, Allen looked at the rags he used to wear.

First was a pair of black pants, given to him by a sympathetic person during a particularly hard winter, and they were probably the worst shape out of all the clothes Road had brought him. Next was a black vest that had always been loose. In fact, the only thing that fit correctly back then was the mitten he'd discovered in the trash to hide his hand. Everything was always way too big. Road was right, everything probably would still fit.

Allen shifted the stack and spotted the turtleneck he'd worn under the vest. He remembered being excited he'd found something with such long sleeves and a longer neck to pull up to his chin.

Road had brought new black dress shoes, because Allen had come barefoot. He used to have sandals, but they'd fallen apart after he walked in them everyday from town to town.

Allen slowly put each piece of clothing on, careful not to damage them further. He was looking at himself in the the mirror when Road barged in, impatient.

"Allen! You look so cute! You look like a six year old again!" She squealed. She ran over to adjust his vest and brush his shoulder. Allen moved his right hand to his left and slipped on the mitten he was holding, completing the look.

"I can't tell if you're cuter in a suit or in this! I should have dressed you up in this years ago!" Allen still made no comment. He felt nostalgic wearing these clothes again. Road noticed his behavior, but she didn't press him.

"What am I doing on this mission? I don't know where I'm going on a map, I've got a target everyone but me knows about, and I'm back in these rags I wore every week for years!"

"I don't know what to tell you." Road tried to say.

"Say something! I don't like that everyone is keeping secrets from me!" Road sighed and sat down on Allen's bed.

"Mana used to be a friend of the family, sort of like you, but he betrayed us. He's very tricky, so he knows how to escape our searches, but he's insane in my opinion."

"Why am I going to some fair and a bunch of circuses?"

"Because Mana's a clown. Professionally. He always winds up in some run down circus whenever there's one near him, but there's too many of them for us to check. He changes location every two weeks to every month."

"What is he like?"

"What do you mean?"

"As in, what's his personality?" Road hummed and drummed her fingers on her leg.

"Well, Mana's usually pretty formal. He like a gentleman. He was humble too. Mana refused to let us do anything or buy something for him while he was with us."

"Why do I have to look homeless to get his attention."

"You don't. But it's easier to play innocent when your an orphaned homeless child. Also, you look just like a little kid!" Road smirked.

"What else do you think I'll need?" Allen asked under a moments thought.

"If you're going to look homeless, you can't bring anything extra."

"So nothing to do when I'm bored?"

"Just go out and kill some people. It keeps me from getting bored."

"I'm not you Road. Can I at least take some weapons?"

"Do what you want, I'm just making suggestions." Allen ran his fingers through his hair and took a deep breath.

"Anyway, get out Road I need to change." Luckily for Allen, Road didn't protest. Allen watched her walk out the door and he could almost imagine her leaning against the wall by his door, playing with some doll that she pulled out of no where.

Secretly, Allen wished she could come with him on the mission. He didn't know if he could do it by himself. He'd never done it before. But if the Earl believed in him, he could definitely do it. He had to.

* * *

**There! Done. Ugh, I did so much research. I was looking up circuses from the 19th century, and I couldn't remember all the details of Allen's clothes, so I spent at least two hours getting caught up in the Manga and reading while looking for the scene Mana buries Allen the dog. I still didn't find it, but I found a picture of Red in the later chapters, so I was fine in the end. Does any one know what chapter Red meets Mana? I haven't read it in a while.**

**This chapter was pretty boring too. :/ Well, I'll make it better next chapter! In fact, I'll start writing the next chapter right now, and then maybe I can get it out quicker. I'll work as late as I need to to post tonight. :D**

* * *

**HikoHiro:** Thank you! I like how the Earl is still his weird, playful self, but he was willing to take Allen in. Although, I think in a few chapters or something, everyone's going to be surprised. Tee Hee Hee...

**the noah clans pure madness:** I can't get enough of these fics. I feel like I'm repeating myself, but then I realize I don't care and I just love the Noah's too much to leave them out of my stories.

**MercenaryCrime:** Thank you! Allen is adorable no matter who the writer is. :P Sorry for my slooooow update, I was sick and lazy for a while.

**Notasongfic:** it'll be a while before they come in the story. You'll see a lot more of them in the sequel. Unfortunately, I can't kill off Lenalee since I have plans for her. Disappointing, I know.

**Sarvajith:** I love it when people use my name! "Abyss-chan!" Yayayayayay! Allen is the cutest. I'm excited that this whole story will be him as a ten year old.

**Call Me Rinny:** I'm glad you love it! That makes me indescribably happy! You'll be seeing a lot of Red, even more when Allen meets Mana.

**A fan I guessXD:** Thanks! Sorry this took so long, I will strive to get better at writing faster. :D

**Snipperita:** This one will last for a loooong time. This one will probably go on for a month or two, and then I'm thinking the sequel will be even _longer._ So I think this will keep you from exploding for a while. :P

**VKLOREO23:** I'll give Allen some touching goodbye with Lulubell next chapter before he leaves for his mission just for you, 'kay?

**Lenore91:** I'll keep it that way.

**ZeroHour23:** I'll try! Thanks for the complement! (I don't know how to handle it)

**Baylee1100:** Okay! Here's an update that's a bit overdue. :/ I'm sorry for that.

**Guest:** You're welcome! I'm glad you liked it, and so, I give you my next chapter for your enjoyment. :D

* * *

**Car shopping is so tiresome. Lot's of money and time wasted. Anyway, we just bought a new Nissan Versa Hatchback. Now you guys don't have to worry about me taking so long to update since car shopping is over! Yay! Now I need to go cookie shopping, because I want chocolate chip cookies. :P**

**Don't forget to review or follow if you want some cookies! If you review, I will give you a virtual cookie, free of charge. You're Welcome in advance.**

**Abyss-chan out~!**


	3. Chapter 3: Meet Mana

**Disclaimer: You know that manga called D. Gray-man? Yeah, I don't own that.**

* * *

Allen frowned at the black canvas bag Tyki had given to him. It was stuffed full of food that would last any normal person at least a week, but for Allen, it was slightly less than a full meal. Since Allen was going undercover, the Noah couldn't buy him food all the time, so Tyki tried to give him some to survive on, but Allen knew that even if he tried to conserve his food, it'd be gone in two days at most.

"Try and eat as little as possible."

"That's unhealthy."

"For you. Most people don't find it hard to eat one thing, like a sandwich, per meal, and some can live off of one thing per day, which is what you're going to have to do."

"You say that like it's easy, Tyki"

"It is." Tyki mumbled, aware that Allen wouldn't listen to him.

Skin shuffled over, and held up a chocolate bar and two pieces of gum, which Allen gratefully accepted after setting down the bag of food. Skin patted him on the head, and wished him luck on his mission.

Jasdevi were sobbing behind the farewell group, struggling to keep their makeup from smearing.

"Our little Allen is growing up! His first long-term mission!"

"Hii! Our little Allen! We'll miss him!"

"He's going to a better place, I know!"

"Guys, shut up, I'm not dead. I'll be back soon."

"Take as much time as you need, Allen-kun. This mission needs to go smoothly." The Earl reminded.

"It will, Earl. I won't fail you." The Earl nodded, satisfied. Lulubell stepped up and curtly nodded. But before she could step back to let Road say goodbye, Allen jumped forward and hugged her. She was much taller than him, especially in heels, so he had to reach up to wrap his arms around her waist. But despite the awkwardness, Lulubell returned the hug briefly by patting him gently on the back. Allen grinned and let go, happy Lulubell had hugged him back, in her own way.

"Allen! I want a hug too!"

"Don't worry Road, you get one." Road squeaked and glomped Allen, accidentally knocking him over. Allen grunted, but he let Road do whatever she pleased, because he'd never leave if he didn't. Road buried her face in his shoulder and giggled playfully as she made Allen uncomfortable. Eventually, she got up, and pulled Allen up with her. This time, she gave him a normal hug, squeezing him tight, not wanting to let go. Before she backed off, she planted a kiss on Allen's forehead.

"Do your best!" She cheered as Allen blushed. To hide his face, Allen picked up the bag he'd set down and looked at the floor.

"Good luck Shounen." Allen nodded to each Noah, and then turned to face the Road's door. She had gone ahead and set up a door to the Stepney Green Fair the night before while Allen was sleeping, so he wouldn't have to worry about it in the morning.

"I'll be back!" Allen shouted before stepping through the doorway and coming out on the other side.

Allen gasped at the sight before him. He'd come out on top of a building, looking down on the biggest crowd of people he'd ever seen. Many colorful tents spotted the crowd, showing a different circus under each one. If the Earl was right, Allen's target was at one of those circus's. He sighed. There were at least eight shows there at the fair. Allen wasn't sure how he'd find Mana, but he'd start as soon as he could.

First thing he could do, was investigate each show. Surely, there would be people talking about the acts, and fliers that could have some information that would be useful. But Allen had to be stealthy. If he asked too many questions, Mana might overhear and leave, to be cautious.

Allen first task was to figure out a way to get down from this rooftop...

* * *

**About twenty minutes of almost falling and dangerous stunts later**

Allen breathed heavily, trying to catch his breath. His heart was beating fast from the near-death experience. Allen made a note to never believe a pipe could support your weight unless tested.

Finally regaining his composure, Allen left the alleyway, lugging his food over his shoulder.

"Hmm, where to start?" Allen muttered. He looked around and spotted a hand-written flier on the ground, advertising one of the shows. Allen shuffled through the crowd and picked up the flier. He did a quick scan of the performers' names, and was disappointed to find that Mana was not listed. He dropped the paper back on the ground and began walking to the nearest big tent.

Two men wearing silly masks were walking on stilts at the entrance, trying to pull people in.

"Come one, come all!"

"Come in, folks, it's fun for all ages!" The men would the proceed to do some trick, like stand on one stilt, and the a small crowd when get suckered into line. Allen followed the crowd and got in the back of the line. Allen was looking around for anything that might give away his target, but he had to look childish too. Allen seemed to be grinning at the men on stilts, but his eyes were rolling around in their sockets, reading each sign and looking at each face, as if Allen would somehow recognize the man. When Allen got to the front of the line, he was glad Tyki had prepared him by giving him money with his food.

"That'll be 320 pence, if ye 'ave the money." The seller said with a bored expression. Allen quickly counted the proper amount and traded it for a blue ticket.

"Have fun, brat." The man called as Allen walked away. He had a hard time maintaining his excited guise when he was remembering how rude humans could be. When he approached the ticket stub collector, he practically threw the ticket at him. The man seem unaffected by Allen's behavior. He ripped off the stub, and passed the rest back.

"Yer seat is number 874. It's on the right side."

"Thank you sir." Allen said, reminding himself to stay in character.

It didn't take long for Allen to find his seat. However, people failed to acknowledge him, so he was constantly shoved aside. When he finally made it to his seat, his mood was sour, and the show was starting.

Allen didn't think the acts were very interesting. He analyzed each one, and imagined himself doing each trick, though he didn't know how. Never-the-less, Allen clapped and cheered with the crowd, pretending to be amazed like the other children.

This pattern repeated itself for three more shows. Each time, some one glared at him for sitting too close or cutting in line, though he did neither. Apparently, street kids weren't very welcome in this area.

Allen eventually got tired of watching the same thing over and over again at different tents, and decided to eat a small lunch beside one of the tents to get out of the crowd.

Allen opened the black bag and stuck his hand inside pulling out the first thing he touched. It was six loaves of bread wrapped up in a cloth. Allen quickly unwrapped the precious food and shoved it in his mouth, quietly sighing at the taste of fresh rolls. Allen could tell they were made that morning, even though the warmth had left after four hours of Allen "enjoying" the circus. Too soon, the rolls were consumed, and Allen reached back into the bag. He was about to pull out two BLT sandwiches, but then he paused, remembering this was all the food he had. Unfortunately for Allen, better judgment overruled his stomach and he put the sandwiches back in the bag.

Allen stood up and shouldered his bag. He was about to take a step when a clown appeared out of no where and ran into Allen, knocking him over. The bag fell off Allen's shoulder and was crushed by Allen and the clown's weight.

"Oh dear. Are you all right little one?" Allen first coughed because the air had been knocked out of his lungs, and then he growled, annoyed at the weight that was taking too long.

"Get off." The clown laughed at Allen's angry tone and stood up, brushing the front of his outfit.

"I'm afraid I wasn't watching where I was going. Little Allen was distracting me." Allen looked up, very confused, to see the clown was pointing to a dog wearing a ruffled collar like a jester, and had a matching hat with bells at the tips. Allen rolled his eyes.

"Might ask, is that your food?" Allen looked down and gasped at the mess. When he'd landed on the bag, a bottle of water burst and spilled over everything. Allen practically dived in the pile to try and salvage something, but everything except fruit was soggy and inedible. Allen seriously considered crying. His food was gone. What would he do? He could try and gamble for money, but no one would let him in anywhere because he was too young. Allen immediately assumed a dark glare and stared at the clown. It was his fault.

"Are you angry at me?" He asked, looking heartbroken. Allen hesitated in his glare, but he decided he was angry at the clown.

"Yes."

"Ah, I shall have to kill myself then." Out of no where, he pulled a noose out of his sleeve and wrung it around his neck. Allen jumped and started yelling at the clown.

"Idiot! What are you doing?" The clown just chuckled and removed the rope, throwing it haphazardly behind him.

"You don't want me to die?"

"Maybe." Allen vaguely replied. He had considered slitting the clown's throat the moment he saw his food, but he decided that was a bit rash over food, as much as he loved it. "I considered it." Allen confessed, though the clown probably thought he was joking.

"Well thanking you for not carrying out your thoughts. I have a job." Allen thought that maybe that was supposed to be funny, but he didn't laugh. Instead, he sadly picked up a basket of fruit and hooked his arm around it.

"Would you like an apology?" With out waiting for a reply, the clown bowed. Amazingly enough, his dog followed suit and lowered it's nose to it's paws. "I apologize for running into you. Would you accept a free ticket to my show?" Allen thought for a second and decided he should get back to work anyway, and keep looking for Mana.

"Fine." The clown reached into a hidden pocket behind him and displayed a ticket for Allen.

"This is a backstage pass. I'll take you with me and you can get some food from our chef if you'd like. I'll even give you a tour." Allen brightened at this news. This man didn't know how much he was helping. He eagerly grabbed the ticket and bowed, matching the clown and his dog.

"Thank you very much. I accept your apology." Allen said, pulling out his manners. The clown seemed amused by this.

"So there are some manners in there. You sound like a cute little gentleman." Allen twitched at the word cute.

"I'm not cute."

"Oh, but you are!" The clown jumped up in the air, grinning at Allen. Allen stepped back when the man tried to reach out and pinch his cheeks. The clown just laughed again.

"If you'll follow me and Allen." Allen shook his head slightly at the strangeness of hearing his name. He followed the an to the back of the tent where there was another entrance, not nearly as crowded as the front. A few other tents were set up a few meters away from that doorway, colored the same as the big tent.

"Over there is the ringleader's tent, and that's the animal training center in that one." The clown said, pointing out two of the bigger tents.

"Those two are where we sleep every night. Female's on the right, and male's on the left. Then over there is the mess hall tent, which is like a portable kitchen and dining room for a lot of people." Allen nodded, not bothering to commit this to memory. The clown then opened the flap of the big tent, and gestured for Allen to go inside. The first thing Allen saw was a bunch of heavily makeup-ed people scrambling around, shouting orders and requests at each other.

"Today is a rather busy day, if you hadn't noticed. It's not normally like this, but with a show every hour, things get pretty hectic." The dog ran over next to Allen, and nuzzled his leg, pushing him to follow the clown. Allen patted the dog's head with his gloved hand absently and caught up with the clown.

"Who are they?" Allen asked, trying to act like a kids.

"They are the Siamese twins, Nicknamed Jack and Jill. Their real names are Cini and Twi." The clown whispered the last part.

"Over there is Bart, the Lion trainer, though he'd prefer if you call him Clyde, since that's his stage name. That group of people over there by the make up station are the trapeze artists."

"What are their names?"

"Hmm, well from the left to right is Clara, Miller, Philip, Ashley, Tara, and Jordan **(A/N: In case you're wondering, Jordan is a girl)**. They usually take turns in each show, since they get pretty worn out. For example, Tara, Jordan, and Miller are going out to the next show, and Clara, Phillip, and Ashley will go after." Allen noted none of these people were who he was looking for.

"Are there any other clowns besides you?"

"Well, the ringleader has occasionally gone out, but the crowd doesn't know that. His name is Cosimo." The clown was interrupted by a quiet growl from Allen.

"Heh, Allen isn't very fond of Cosimo. In fact no one really is, but we don't say anything if we want to keep getting a check. There's also Lewis, but he goes by Felix. He's the White Face Clown, which means he's the head clown **(A/N:That's a real thing, by the way)**. Cosimo get pretty annoyed when Felix tries to tell him what to do during the show, but he has to follow the White Face Clown's instructions whether he's the ringleader or not."

"What are you?"

"The Auguste. I get to get pied in the face." The clown grinned. "Allen is my assistant. We do tricks together." Suddenly, a loud buzzer went off, and everybody in the tent froze for a second.

"That means they're letting the crowd in and the show will be starting in ten minutes. Would you like me to find you a seat to watch from backstage?" Allen nodded. He hadn't heard Mana's name yet, but he figured he wasn't introduce to everyone yet. The clown left him to find a chair, so Allen leaned against a crate, adjusting his fruit basket, trying to resisting eating it all. He was amused to see that there were kids younger than him running around, carrying piles of outfits that blocked their view, occasionally tripping. One kid looked about five and was bringing a plate of orange slices to one of the trapeze artists; Clara, if he remembered correctly.

The Siamese twins were doing a rigorous stretch that didn't seem possible with their hips combined. Allen saw a large group of men dressed in black leotards that sparkled, and he wondered what they did.

"I found one! Luckily for you, there's no one else sitting there now. You'll have the back stage seats all to yourself." Allen nodded, and the Clown looked slightly disappointed at Allen's lack of enthusiasm.

"Allen is going to lead you to the spot. I have to repaint my face and fix a hole in my sleeve." The Clown excused himself, and disappeared into the ruckus. Allen looked expectantly at the dog, and wondered if it understood. Suddenly, that dog yipped, and trotted away. Allen chased after it, and eventually came across a curtained room with ten chairs. The spot was blocked from the rest of the audience, but you could easily see the performance, though everything was at an angle. The show was directed at the audience, so no one would be facing him, but Allen didn't mind. He was here for the show anyway.

"Erm, Thank you Allen?" Allen said, looking at the do. The dog yipped again and nuzzled Allen's left hand. Allen looked around cautiously, and then slipped the mitten off his hand to scratch behind the ears. Before he could even move his hand to pet the dog, it yipped again and licked Allen's hand. Allen froze, and watched silently as Allen sniffed his hand and licked it again, practically begging to be pet. Allen gave in, but he was partially in shock. This was crazy, of course, since this was just a dog, but Allen never had anyone except maybe Road who touched his hand at all. Even the rest of the Noah were slightly distanced. Only Road hugged him and held his hand. Allen felt like sniffling, but he shook his head and wiped his nose on his sleeve, becoming a child for a moment. He quickly shoved his hand back into the mitten, afraid someone would discover him. Allen the dog seemed upset that his hand had stopped scratching, but he wagged his tail none the less and ran away, leaving Allen by himself. Allen shuffled to a chair, and pulled himself up to sit down. He grumbled while he had to climb the chair, because it was so tall. Eventually, Allen was seated properly with his legs dangling just above the floor.

Suddenly, there was a loud cheer, and Allen looked at a man in a red coat and a black top hat walk onto the center of the ring.

"Welcome ladies and gentleman! Welcome to the Grimaldi Circus! Are you ready to enjoy yourself and be amazed at the tricks displayed by our performers?" The crowd cheered loudly, and clapped excitedly. Allen decided since no one could see him, he wouldn't clap. He didn't feel like it.

"We shall start with our star performer, Felix, the White Faced clown!" Immediately, the ring leader stepped aside as a clown in a very baggy suit and painted face walked into the ring. His face was coated in white face paint that went all the way down the his neck, until it was covered by a round, ruffled collar that was splayed out like a disk.

"This is my favorite part." Allen jumped at the voice behind him.

"I'm Zaire. I do the make up for pretty much everyone."

"Oh." A women with light brown, curly hair was leaning against a pole with her arms crossed. She was wearing a white dress with a very fluffy skirt and black tights.

"What's you're favorite part?"

"I don't know." Allen replied lazily, hoping to force the women away.

"That's too bad. I assume you were brought in by our Auguste Clown?" She asked while her eyes were on Felix, who seemed to be silently acting out some sort of one man play.

"I think so."

"That's not surprising. He probably the only one that would do something like that. Any reason?"

"He ran into me." Zaire chuckled quietly, trying to to disrupt the show.

"That sounds like him. So, kid, are you bored?" Her eyes landed on Allen's face.

"Not really."

"Then why aren't you clapping?" Allen's eye twitched. Why was this women so nosy?

"Because nothing worth applause has happened." Allen replied, ignoring her gaze.

"Are you not excited for the sooner the show to start?"

"I just want to eat. The clown told me he'd take me to the food after the show."

"You've got a basket of fruit right there."

"I have to save that for later." Luckily for Allen, Zaire decided not to ask any questions.

"Where's your family?" Zaire asked, changing the subject. Allen stiffened, and his mind raced to think of an explanation.

"They abandoned me." Allen decided that it was a good idea to keep the Noah out of the picture completely.

"You poor boy!" Allen wasn't expecting Zaire to rush over and pick him up.

"Put me down!" Zaire shook her head, and squeezed his body closer.

"You're so light! I should take you to go get food now!" Allen was sorely tempted, but he had a job to do, and he was reluctant to go anywhere with this clingy women.

"No, I wanna finish watching the show."

"So now you're suddenly interested?"

"Yes."

"You just don't want to go with me." She accused. Allen didn't bother to deny it. Maybe she would go away.

"Fine, but I'll make sure Mana doesn't forget to take you." Allen's ears perked up, and his jaw dropped.

"What?" Allen asked.

"Now welcoming to the ring, our Auguste Clown, Mana Walker!" Allen's head whipped over to the ring to see the clown that had brought him in and Allen the dog walking in with a goofy smile, greeting the White Faced clown.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, I just thought I recognized the name, but I guess it's not who I thought it was." Zaire accepted the hasty lie. Allen internally growled. He could have killed the clown the moment they met if he had bothered to introducing himself! Then he could have gone home that day!

"I guess Walker is a common name, though I thought Mana was pretty rare." Allen shrugged, distracted by the clown that was his target.

"At least let me sit with you." Allen sighed, but realized he couldn't when. He nodded minutely, and Zaire happily sat on his right side. Every now and then, she made some comment on the acts, but Allen tuned her out, planning the next few days ahead. The best way to kill Mana would be to gain his trust, like the Earl said, so it'd be easier to get him alone. In order to gain his trust, he'd have to be near him. Allen decided he'd join the circus.

"I want to join this circus." Allen announced. Zaire looked at him quizzically, and shrugged.

"Go for it. You'll have to ask Cosimo, the ringleader, so good luck. Do you know any tricks?"

"No."

"Then you'll probably end up as some helping hand unless you want to perform." Allen crinkled his nose at the thought of acting silly in front of a crowd. "Heh, I guess not. I'll take you to Cosimo's tent tonight once the festival's over. You can help me out in the mean time." Allen decided to agree, since Cosimo would be too busy to ask during the day.

"They watched the rest of the show together, mostly in silence. On the final act, Zaire dragged him out of the backstage seating to her station.

"I want you to watch me reapply the make up of a trapeze artist. Theirs comes the most, besides Mana, because he gets pied in the face, and so you need to see how we have to fix everything in fifteen minutes. We've only got so little time before the next show starts. Usually, the show is only once a day, and three hours long, but at a festival like this, we have to be quick so we can let more people in." Zaire explained, setting up the supplies for her next job.

"Why do I have to watch you?"

"In case you end up being my assistant. I've been asking Cosimo for one for a while, but he decides the jobs around here. Either way, this will be useful for you to know if you want to work in a circus." Allen blinked at Zaire's sudden serious mode.

"First, you always need to remember to use each bottle of paint up completely before switching. We can't afford to waste anything here." For the next half hour, Zaire explained the different uses and techniques you used. She showed him where to find the storage that held extra make up, and where new packages would arrive if something was ordered. Surprisingly, Allen found the lessons interesting. He found himself hoping to be her assistant, even though she was a bit annoying and silly at times. But then he had to remind himself he wasn't going to be there long anyway.

"It seems the show will be ending soon, so lets go set everything up. Remember, we'll have to get everything done in fifteen minutes for all the performers. Luckily, we've got three other people and their assistants to help us get this job done." As Zaire predicted, the moment the show ended, the tent was filled with people. Allen spotted Mana coming in, looking a bit worn out, but he was wearing a wide smile. The longer Allen stared, the more he thought the smile was fake. Zaire seemed to notice him staring, and called him over.

"Mana! Come over here! We'll do your make up!" Mana walked over, with his head tilted.

"What are you doing, son?"

"I'm joining the circus."

"Did you ask Cosimo?" Zaire answered for him.

"He hasn't got a chance to. But Cosimo better let him join, I need an assistant and this kid already had the ropes down. Now sit down on the stool, Mana, me and the kid are gonna put on more paint."

"How did you meet Zaire?" Mana asked.

"She found me." Allen said simply, passing Zaire a sponge coated in fresh paint.

"The kid was sitting by himself, so I decided to say hi. You just left him there, Mana, geez."

"What else was I supposed to do? I couldn't take him out with me."

"Stop talking, you're making this difficult." Mana smiled briefly, and then stayed silent. Allen studied his face, try to figure out his thoughts. Mana seemed to be wary around everybody, though he was very good at hiding it. He looked like somebody that would have the ability to hide from the Noah.

"Would you like something, child?" Mana asked, noticing his staring.

"When will you take me to get food?" Allen found it easy to find this response, since his stomach was threatening to grumble at any minute. Mana and Zaire both laughed.

"I'm afraid I can't do anything until the show is over. I already took my lunch break. Maybe Zaire could-?"

"No, this kid didn't want to go with me earlier. I told him to eat his fruit, but he said he was saving it for later or something." Allen nodded internally. Who knew the next time he'd get food after Mana gave him some? He'd have to preserve the fruit for as long as he could. He had learned on the streets you couldn't afford to scarf down food the moment you got it.

"Any reason kid?" Mana asked.

"She's weird." Mana and Zaire laughed again, but Allen didn't take back what he said. Even though he was beginning to get comfortable around Zaire, she was still weird. Suddenly, the buzzer went off, and Zaire shoved Mana off the stool.

"Go on, I've got to get everyone else ready too!" Mana bowed slightly, and whistled for his dog, though Allen didn't see if he came, since he was busy with another person.

* * *

**Later**

Allen dropped to the ground, holding his stomach as the last person left and out to the last show of the day. Zaire was in a similar state, except she didn't drop to the ground like Allen.

"Good job kid. Once this show is over, I'll take you to Cosimo, and then you can go get dinner with Mana."

"C-Can I get dinner now?" Allen asked while his stomach complained loudly.

"You don't mind?" Allen was too hungry to consider waiting any longer. He'd have plenty of time to gain Mana's trust once he was in the circus officially. Zaire smiled and offered her hand out to Allen, but he ignored it and pulled himself up off the ground and waited for her to lead the way.

Allen almost fainted at the smell of chicken and soup wafting from the Mess Hall tent. He was all too eager to get inside and began eating all he could. Of course, he probably wasn't allowed to get all he wanted. Allen grimly noted he was going to be hungry all the time. All the more reason to kill Mana sooner.

"Ah look, there's already a line. The end of the line's over there." Allen rushed off before she could even finish her sentence to get in line. Zaire watched him run with a smile, and she followed after him at a slower pace. When she got there, Allen was tapping his foot impatiently, even though it had only been a few second since he'd gotten in line.

"You sure are hungry. When was the last time you ate?"

"A couple hours ago, before Mana came along and ruined my food." Allen growled. Zaire was taken aback by the venom in his tone. "All that food, wasted." Allen muttered. Zaire laughed, realizing he was only upset about the food.

"You're a strange kid."

"And your a strange lady." Allen retorted.

"True." Zaire admitted. The line took a few steps forward, and Allen quickly followed it, getting closer to the source of the smell. His stomach gurgled at the thought of hot food on his tongue. Allen was almost drooling. After what seemed to be forever for Allen, he finally got a bowl of Chicken and Dumplings, and went to stand by tent wall. Zaire saw this, and called him over to one of the tables. Allen stared for a moment, considering the thought, and eventually gave in to Zaire's calls. But when he sat down, Zaire was shocked to see the bowl was already empty.

"Where did your food go?"

"Are you stupid? I ate it."

"How?" Allen rolled his eyes and shook his head at her amazement.

"By putting a spoonful in my mouth, and swallowing." Allen replied sarcastically.

"But that's impossible!"

"Have you never eaten food before?"

"Not that, idiot! Geez, you're a sassy one. I meant it shouldn't have been possible for you to eat a bowlful in under ten seconds!"

"But I did." Allen pointed out.

"How?"

"I already explained that." Zaire lightly hit is arm.

"Stop that."

"Stop what?"

"Being rude."

"I'm not being rude, I'm answering your questions."

"Not very well."

"Really? I thought I was being very clear." Zaire just stared at him for a second and blinked until she decided to give up.

"Whatever. I'll just pretend I'm talking to a black hole."

"You do that. Are we allowed seconds?"

"Only until everybody's already gotten a bowl. Do you really need seconds? You apparently just ate a whole bowl of chicken and dumplings." Allen's stomach answered for him. Zaire laughed hesitantly, partially in shock.

"Um, I'm afraid you'll have to wait for the show to end." Allen moaned and buried his face in his arms on the table. "Don't worry, it'll be over before you know it." Allen wasn't too sure about that. But he didn't complain any farther, since he didn't feel like it. Zaire would probably just get annoyed with him anyways.

Sure enough, after much silent complaining on Allen's part, the performers walked in, using towels to wipe their faces, and got in line. Allen immediately perked up when when people started getting their food, but it wasn't until half an hour later he could get back in line, because Zaire was holding him back. Allen found himself in line right behind Mana.

"Hello there. You haven't eaten yet?"

"I have. I'm getting seconds since everyone else has already gotten food, or is in line for it." Allen explained, gesturing to full tables, and the door empty of people.

"When did you first eat?"

"An hour and a half ago."

"You had to wait a long time."

"Zaire wouldn't let me go."

"Sounds like her. Did you get to ask Cosimo about joining?"

"No." Allen didn't elaborate. Mana didn't ask farther. Allen liked the way this man kept to himself.

They got up to the line, and Allen eagerly accepted another bowlful. He walked back to the table with Mana, and Zaire watched Allen put his bowl down.

"I'm going to watch you eat this time. Don't mind me." Allen gave he a bored look, and picked up his spoon. Zaire leaned closer to watch him dip the spoon. Suddenly, she saw a blur, and the spoon moved inhumanly fast to Allen's mouth. She could barely make out his hand moving back and forth, and settled for watching the food disappear. Within seconds, everything was gone, and Zaire was gaping.

"What just happened?" She asked. Mana was watching with an amused smile, and Allen rubbed his stomach that was begging for more.

"I suppose you can't get thirds." Zaire silently shook her head, her eyes wide.

"Would you like my share?" Mana offered. Allen turned to look at him and narrowed his eyes.

"You haven't eaten yet."

"You're right, I haven't."

"I can't eat your food."

"But I'm giving it to you. You obviously have a greater need."

"No I don't."

"You just asked for thirds."

"I was curious. I'm full."

"I don't believe you."

"Then don't." For a moment, they sat in silence, and then Zaire cracked. A bubble of laughter erupted from her throat.

"This is the first time you've acted like a kid all day, and you happen to be arguing with a childish man! You two are insane!" Zaire commented. "Although, he's right, you're obviously still hungry, somehow."

"I'm not."

"Yes you are." Zaire replied.

"Am not."

"Are."

"Not."

"Are."

"Not!"

"Are."

"I said I'm not hungry, yeh bint!" Allen bit his lip when he realized he'd let his old accent slip out.

"Did you just call me a bint?"

"I did! Because you're stubborn and annoying!" Allen yelled back.

"Child, that was rude. Apologize." Mana interrupted.

"Why should I?" Allen seethed.

"Because that's what gentleman do. I was under the impression you were a gentleman."

"I am when I want to be." Allen spat. What was this man trying to do, act like a father?

"Then be one now."

"I was always told not to lie and to be yourself." Allen responded, crossing his arms.

"Then you should change yourself, since it's not nice to treat ladies like that." Allen groaned.

"I'm waiting." Zaire commented. Allen gave her a look, and stood up.

"Then wait forever." Allen turned around, but he didn't walk away because suddenly, his stomach decided to betray him and grumbled very loudly.

"I told you you were hungry!" Zaire exclaimed, pointing at his stomach. Allen gave her a short glare, and then marched out of the tent, earning many looks. He dramatically shoved the flap aside, and walked out into the night air. He hadn't taken four steps when he bumped into someone, and was knocked over.

"Oy! Who are you, boy?" The man he ran into slurred. Allen got up and saw the ringleader holding a bottle of some strong smelling alcohol before him.

"I'd like to join this circus." Allen blurted out. The man raised his eyebrow, and scanned Allen.

"What's yer name?" Allen frantically searched for something to say, but he couldn't think of anything.

"Er, I don't have a name." He replied. Cosimo snorted and took a sip from his drink.

"D'ya have any tricks?"

"I can gamble." Allen replied, unsure. Cosimo grunted.

"That's not a trick."

"Zaire taught me how to work the make up station." Allen tried. Cosimo was silent at this. "I can do work too." Something in Cosimo's expression changed at this.

"Fine. But Imma hafta see what sort of shape you're in. Take off your shirt." Allen froze and stopped breathing for a moment.

"But sir, I promise I can do work, you really don't have to-"

"You want to tell me what to do?" Cosimo roared. He swung his fist to punch Allen in the face, but Allen reflexively caught it as a result from his training. Allen gasped and quickly let go, stepping back. Cosimo looked shocked, then angry.

"Are yeh tryin' to make a fool of me?" Cosimo didn't wait for an answer, and threw his bottle at Allen's face. Allen thought it would be best not to betray his strength, in case it revealed his identity, and took the strike. The glass shattered upon contact, and Allen stumbled back.

"You think yeh can fight me?" Cosimo accused. He reached out and picked Allen up by the left arm. Allen squirmed uselessly; his feet could even touch the ground. Cosimo took the chance to slap him in the face. Then he dropped him on the ground. As Allen fell, the mitten on his left hand fell off, and Cosimo spotted it immediately. His angry expression turned to a smirk.

"Yer a freak. A freak with a red arm. Guess what kid? I got a name fer yeh. Yer gonna be called Red." Allen quickly grabbed his hand and pulled it to his chest, trying desperately to hide it. Cosimo laughed and picked up Allen's mitten.

"I'll be keepin' this." Cosimo tossed it in the air and caught it once, and then walked into the Mess Hall tent, leaving Allen on the ground. Allen got up with a glare. He'd just gained a new target. Now this circus would be missing two people by the end of the week, and their ringleader would be the first to go.

Allen wiped the blood on his face off with his shirt, staining the white red.

"Kid?" Allen turned around to see Zaire and Mana standing in front of the doorway with shocked looks on their faces, though Mana's was a little better concealed.

"What?" Allen growled.

"Are you alright child?" Mana asked, taking a step forward, but Zaire held him back.

"H-His hand..." Zaire whispered with wide eyes. Allen swore and shoved his hand into his pockets. "You're a monster." Allen's angry face flinched at the word and he stared directly into Zaire's eyes to see her reaction. Zaire let go of Mana, and backed away a few steps, making room between her and Allen.

"You're a freak!" She yelled. She turned around and ran back into the tent, leaving Mana with Allen.

"What about you? Are you just gonna sit there and stare?" Allen asked Mana, who had his lips pursed.

"May I see your hand again?"

"No!" Allen shouted, his voice wavering. He knew what would happen.

"I don't want to hurt you."

"That's what they all say." Mana's face became soft after Allen said that.

"At least tell me your name."

"It's Red now."

"That doesn't sound like a proper name."

"I'm stuck with it." Allen replied, still wary of Mana's comforting face.

"Would you like to sleep in the bed next to mine tonight? It's empty."

"No." Mana sighed.

"Then good night. Get those cuts treated." Mana gave Allen one last look and then walked over to the Men's tent. Allen couldn't sleep there. He needed to separate himself from everyone.

Allen walked into the big tent, which was eerily empty, and found his fruit basket he'd left by the make up. Allen left the tent, and began exploring the grounds. Eventually, he entered the animal training tent and discovered a stack of crates a few feet away from the occupied cages. Allen slipped behind them, trying not to disturb the lions, and pushed a crate away from the wall of the tent. He now had a small square big enough for him to lay down, and he was completely hidden from view. Allen sighed, and curled up.

He should have seen this coming. It happened everywhere he went. Most of the time, he was chased out, or attacked. It was times like this that Allen wanted to go back home to the Noah. This had happened almost a dozen times in the past four years while he trained. He was surprising how many times a glove could fall or be pulled off. Mitten's were worse, since they slipped off a lot. He remembered being relieved to get proper white gloves as a present once. His first pair was from Lulubell.

As his mind was lulled with thoughts of the Noah, he drifted off to sleep. The next day was going to be interesting.

* * *

**Ahh, the feeling of finally finishing a chapter is a great one. As I promised, everyone that reviewed gets a cookie!**

* * *

**MercenaryCrime:** I'll try not to. I've been remembering your words all week, and they've made me feel a lot better for taking a week plus some. So thank you for that! Here's chapter three! ***gives you a cookie***

**Scourge From BloodClan:** Thank you so much! I hope you don't become disappointed with the story.

Umm, well Allen will be ten and eleven during this story, but the sequel will catch up with the series. And for the Noah... I'm just gonna say this story will be different from my other multi-chap... Take that however you'd like. ***gives you a cookie***

**Sarvajith:** ^/^ Yay!

Allen will act like Red for a lot of this story, but that will change a bit as the story goes along.

:D Sorry about Road. It makes me sad too, but she won't have a very large part in this story, unfortunately, as _much_ as I love her. If she did, I'd have to pair her up with Allen, and I said there won't be any pairings this story. You will probably get to see more of her, but this story will be mostly about Mana and the Earl, I think.

To be honest, I think anything longer than three day is late, but I think I post more often than a lot of people, except for Orange Moon Goddess (She's the one who wrote the 101 Failed Attempts At Escaping From Cross Marion, if you've read that). ***gives you a cookie***

**Mangopudding:** Allen had a hard time this chapter, didn't he. Instead he got the opposite effect from everyone else, but at least Mana is awesome. The roles are switched now. :P ***gives you a cookie***

**Izzy26:** Random names are fine. It makes me feel like more people are reviewing, even if it's just one person, and that makes me excited :P

I think Allen fit the cold-heartedness of Red this chapter. He was pretty OOC for his usual self at least. He'll change over the period of the story :D

**ennael:** Thank you, I found the chapter. :D I'm glad you liked it! I think this chapter is ten times better than the last one, so I hope you like it. ***gives you a cookie***

**Snipperita:** :) I hope this counts as soon. At least I didn't wait a month for chapter three. :D ***gives you a cookie***

**Dana:** I just couldn't resist. Writing makes me happy. ***gives you a cookie***

**HikoHiro:** Well, I might be hinting something, I might not. I'm just going to say that this story might take a different turn than what everyone thinks. I'm worried everyone's going to be disappointed, but I think the end result will be worth it. I'm just going to say this story is going to be different from Innocent Monster...

You might need to get a new chair. Falling chairs are dangerous. Sometimes, I'll just walk into the room, and my chair just collapses and the wheels are just sadly spinning.

Maaaaybe. I've edited the coat out of the last chapter, but the damage has already been done. We'll just pretend it never happened. I know that Allen had the pants, shirt, and vest before Mana at least. I got the outfit half right. ^^

I'm really excited how easy it's becoming to write longer chapters. This chapter is nine pages long in size nine font. Normally, the font is automatically size 12 when I start writing, but I make it smaller to encourage me to write more. I also put it on the Verdana font, because I don't like Times New Roman. ***gives you a cookie***

* * *

**Yay, everyone has cookies! And by the way, I did get those cookies. I made two pans of cookies, and they were delicious. I have another pack to bake too. ^_^ I have shared my cookies with you wonderful people. Want more? Here. *Throws cookies with mini parachutes out of a plane and lets them fall to the ground for the whole world to eat* Cookies for everyone.**

**Just a warning to everyone, if something happens in one of the up coming chapters that you don't like or definitely weren't expecting, just, um, try and stick with it. Heh.**

**I've got a suggestion from a certain person, JayXNitro, that has given me a prompt for a one shot, and I've decided to write it, so be expecting an upcoming one shot, that might be a bit crack-ish.**

**Abyss-chan out~!**


	4. Chapter 4: Cosimo's job

**Sorry I took, like, a month? School. Marching Band. I also lost my 32 gig flashdrive, and that had all my fanfiction ideas and incomplete stories on there, so I'm upset. I've had to re-write at leeast half of this chapter, a whole one-shot, and the first page of a different one-shot. *sigh* Never-the-less, don't let my gloom get to you. Enjoy this chapter. :D**

**Warning? Language is in this chapter. Blame Cosimo for his dirty mouth. (It's not that bad really)**

**Disclaimer: Did you know that the author of D. Gray-man is not me? Heh, I bet you never guessed.**

* * *

Allen woke up with a sore back and very tangled hair. He took a second to run his fingers through his hair, but he gave up after the second knot. He looked around, not recognizing his surroundings, but then a dull pain in his cheek reminded him of last night's events.

Allen involuntarily clenched his fists at the image of Cosimo in his mind. He realized he didn't have his mitten. Allen groaned when he remembered that Cosimo kept it. Allen didn't know what he was going to do know. It was likely Mana didn't trust him at all now, and it would be difficult to get him alone with no one noticing. If he just asked Mana to follow him and then kill him, people would ask questions and become to nosy for Allen's tastes. Plus, what was the fun in just killing someone without playing a little?

Allen shimmied out of his hide-out and stuck his hands in his pants pocket. He realized he know worked in the circus, and he'd have to find some job to do. He wasn't looking forward to this.

Allen was confused to see no one walking around. He went to the Mess Hall to see if everyone was eating, but there were only two people there. Allen shuffled in, feeling hungry. The man sitting closest to the door gave him an interested look and smiled, but Allen brushed him off.

He walked up to the table where a lady was tiredly mixing a pot of something hot. She was muttering quietly to herself.

"It's too early for this. Today is supposed to be a day I can sleep in. Hmph, the things I do for that man."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, someone else is awake. I suppose you want food."

"Yes mam."

"Well I don't give food to homeless kids. Go beg or something."

"I work here though." Allen pointed out. The women raised an eyebrow and shrugged. She grabbed a bowl from a stack and ladled whatever concoction was in the pot in his bowl. Allen took it with his right hand and sat down at a table as far away from the other man as he could get.

From across the room, the man lifted his hat and looked at Allen with a frown. He stood up and carried his bowl over to Allen's table.

"Good Morning." He started. Allen glared at the man's cheerful smile and ate the liquid that was surprisingly tasty.

"You have an appetite. I thought that was just last night." The man chuckled and ruffled Allen's hair. After swatting the offending hand away, Allen questioned him.

"What about last night? Who are you?" The man laughed loudly.

"You don't recognize me? I'm Mana." Allen's jaw dropped as Allen the dog trotted over as if to prove the truth. Allen was surprised how different the clown looked without his outfit and make-up.

"You look kind of normal now." Allen bluntly stated.

"Kind of?"

"Kind of." Allen didn't elaborate how strange it was to see Mana's face and know he'd have to kill him. Mana stared for a few seconds before shrugging and smiling.

"Want to eat breakfast with me?" Mana asked. Allen's mouth fell slightly open. Hadn't this man seen his arm?

"Why?"

"Why? Because there's no one else here." Allen didn't need to look around to remember the tent was empty.

"You don't have to force yourself to talk to me." Allen growled, his angry mood from last night coming back. Mana gave him a strange look.

"I'm not forcing myself." Mana patted the chair next to him, offering it to Allen. Allen stared at the spot for a long time before reluctantly sitting down. This was what was best for the mission.

"Where did you sleep last night?"

"Somewhere." Allen stubbornly answered. Mana's mouth twisted and he asked again.

"Where did you sleep last night?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because I was worried." Allen ducked his head. This man was strange.

"You don't even know me."

"And you don't know me. How about we introduce ourselves?"

"Why would you want to?"

"Because seem like a person I'd want to know. Here, I'll start. My name is Mana Walker, and this is my partner, Allen." Mana grinned and scratched the dog's ears. "I've worked at the circus for a month and I'm an Auguste Clown. Your turn." Allen sighed and took a slow bite of his oatmeal **(?)**.

"My name is Red." He took another bite of his breakfast.

"Where are you from?"

"Anywhere. I walk from town to town." Allen decided to tell his story before the Noah.

"Do you go with someone?"

"No." Mana frowned.

"How old are you?" At this, Allen had to think. He never really did know his age. As far as he was concerned, his life didn't start until he moved in with the Noah, but he couldn't call himself four-years old. Allen looked at himself, studying his body proportions and came up with a guess. He used this age with the Noah any way.

"Ten?"

"You don't know?"

"No, but I think I'm ten." Mana nodded sadly. Allen grimaced at the pitying look on his features. To Allen's surprise, it disappeared quickly and was covered by a smiling mask.

"So why did you want to work at the circus?" Allen put down his now-empty bowl and bit the inside of his lip.

"Food." Allen responded blandly, though he internally sighed. It was going to be difficult to remember all these lies.

"I believe it." Mana laughed, but Allen didn't do the same. Instead, he twirled his spoon around.

"I have one more question." Allen nodded, indicating for him to go on.

"Where did you sleep last night?" Allen groaned loudly, and glared at Mana, who just smiled in return. After what seemed like minutes, Allen gave up, since Mana obviously wasn't giving in to his glare.

"I slept in the animal's tent." Mana raised his eyebrow.

"Where in the animal's tent?"

"Do you have to know?"

"I'd like to know if you did something stupid." Allen felt a bit offended and crossed his arms.

"It's not like I slept with the lions or anything. It was just behind the crates on the left side." Allen muttered. Mana immediately looked accomplished at cracking Allen.

"Next time, just come to the spare bed at the Men's tent." Allen nodded, but he made no plans to do so. He'd just go back to the same spot as before.

"In other words, I believe you lost something last night. I took it upon myself to find you a replacement." Allen looked down at Mana's hands and almost jumped. Mana was holding out a single, left-handed glove.

"How did you-"

"You never know what you'll find in storage, so I went searching. Here, wear it."

"Why?" Allen didn't want to say anything more, in fear his voice might crack. Only one person had been nice to him like this, and he was drastically different from Mana.

"Because you looked like you wanted it." Mana's voice was quiet and friendly, but Allen could hear something sad darkening his tone. Was he pitying him? Allen hardened his face and pushed the glove away.

"I don't need pity." He insisted.

"I'm not pitying you. There's nothing you need to be pitied for, except for your monstrous appetite. I wouldn't want to carry that around." Mana joked.

"Then how about this _thing_ you saw last night? Don't you want to kill me and get this demon out of your face?" Allen spat. He felt his chest tighten as he used words that were often thrown at him. Suddenly, Mana leaned over in his chair and wrapped an arm around Allen's shoulders. Allen froze and went stiff. His mind flew back to a time before he knew how to survive on his own; when he was far too young to be on the streets.

A women discovered his young body huddled up in a ragged child's blanket. Allen must have been four at the time. She approached him and pulled him into a tight hug, frantically calling for someone to call a doctor. Some passing bystander heard her calls and ran to the closet doctor.

The women was unwrapping the dirty blanket slightly to try and make it cover more of Allen's body. As she did this, a glimpse of Allen's left arm was shown and she suddenly dropped him on the ground. The women began to hyperventilate and step away. Streams of curses poured from her mouth and she ran away, warning everyone to stay away. As a small child, this hurt Allen, since it was one of the first times a person showed promise in saving him.

Allen began to try and pull away from Mana's awkward hug, but Mana didn't let him go, which caused Allen to panic more.

"Calm down. I want you to listen to me. I've seen demons, and I can promise you, you aren't a demon. You're just a kid who doesn't deserve what he's gotten." Mana explained. In an instant, Allen snapped out of his memories and remembered what was happening. This was his target who was trying to comfort him! Not only that, the man had practically admitted he had seen Akuma before, although, you'd have to know the man's past to catch that.

Whatever tears that were trying to form dried quickly, and Allen covered his emotions with indifference. He resumed pulling away from Mana, who took the hint and let go. Mana seemed disappointed that Allen didn't cry. Allen almost smiled. Mana thought he was talking to a weak ten-year-old that had been alone all his life. He didn't realize that this boy was a trained killer who had learned to recover his emotions quickly. The Noah were never sad, and rarely angry. Allen had learned everything he could from them. He wasn't a pathetic little boy like he was when the Earl found him.

Just as Allen was about to excuse himself, the tent flap opened and in walked Zaire, who was looking down. She didn't even look up as she walked to Mana and Allen. Allen shoved his hands in his pockets involuntarily, and waited for her to say something.

"I'm sorry, kid. I over-reacted last night." Zaire shuffled in place, giving an occasional glance to Mana, who smiled encouragingly. Allen's mouth dropped. His eyes switched between the two weirdest people on earth. "I'd already talked to you the whole day, and I knew you were a good kid, but you surprised me." Zaire snorted, "I live in a circus for heaven's sake! I should but used to things like this. Anyway, kid, will you forgive me for being stupid?" Allen didn't know how to respond. No one had _ever_ done this. There was something weird going on.

"I'm sure he does, right?" Mana nudged Allen's shoulder until Allen slowly nodded, still unsure. Despite his hesitance, Zaire immediately cheered up and dashed to go grab breakfast. When she came back, Allen spoke.

"I don't understand you two."

"Why not?" Zaire asked.

"There's no one else like you." Allen mumbled.

"Isn't that a good thing?" He shrugged. I couldn't tell yet. Allen was still too wary to take his hand out of his pockets though, so he opted to go silent.

"Well, today is the last day of the festival guys! Are you ready Mana?"

"Hopefully."

"Right. You better do good today. Go out there and get us some money!" Zaire shouted happily, earning a stare from the serving lady at the back.

"I'll do my best."

"You too, kid." Zaire said. Allen looked up and tilted his head.

"That's right. You're helping me today."

"I thought I would have some sort of job to do."

"This is a job! Cosimo sure as hell isn't going to track you down and give you some menial task. That's too much effort on his part. You're working with me today." Allen nodded and slipped back into his thoughtful silence.

"Hey, Allen!" Allen looked up, but he found that Zaire was calling the dog. Of course. "Hey boy, do you want a treat?" Allen barked excitedly and sat down next to her chair, wagging his tail.

"Shake." Zaire held out her hand and the dog took it, bouncing it up and down in a hand shake.

"High five." The dog stood on it's haunches and high-fived Zaire. She giggled happily and pulled a dog treat out of her pocket. "Good boy. Mana doesn't spoil you enough." Zaire said, scratching the dog's coat. Mana chuckled and ran his fingers through his hair, which caught Allen's attention. He looked a lot like the Earl in his human form when he did that. Did he know how similar he looked? But Mana's hair was a lot longer, and he looked younger.

That brought Allen to another question. How old was Mana? Surely he couldn't be over thirty, right?

"Let's get out of here before the morning crowd comes. You and me need to set up the make up booth." Zaire interrupted, talking to Allen.

"I'll help." Mana said.

"No, you need to get dressed so I can do your make up." Mana smiled and stood up.

"Alright. Take care of Red."

"He's your son now?" Allen's widened and a frown spread across his face. Mana seemed to see his expression, before Allen had a chance to cover it up.

"Of course not. Red wouldn't want that in the first place." Mana stood up looked kindly at Allen.

"Because you're a crazy clown."

"That's my job." Mana bowed slightly lightly tossed the mitten into Allen's lap. He smiled again and walked away as Allen trotted next to him.

"You ready? Why do I even ask? You were done with your food before I came in here." Zaire rolled her eyes, not noticing the mitten, and led the way out of the tent. Allen followed and discreetly slipped the mitten on, staring with disgust as the wrinkled, red skin disappeared being the fabric.

"So Red, huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"That's your name?"

"Yes."

"That doesn't seem like I proper name."

"I didn't pick it."

"Your parents didn't do a good job."

"I don't know the name my parents gave me, if they gave one. Cosimo gave me it." Zaire paused.

"Cosimo? Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. It's not like I want the name, but I don't have anything else to go by." Allen didn't bother to mention that the name was given out of spite, and not out of kindness. He doubted Cosimo had any of that. Even Lulubell was nicer than him, and she was rarely nice to anyone.

"I should re-name you."

"No."

"But why not?"

"Because, knowing you, you'd pick something stupid."

"Hey, Sam is not a stupid name."

"You want to name me Sam? Hell no."

"You're so rude."

"And your so weird." Allen replied smoothly. As Allen spoke, they arrived at Zaire's station and he immediately got started on unpacking the makeup for that day. Zaire followed suit and lit a lamp sitting on the table. For the next ten minutes, Allen listened to the various people trudging from their beds to breakfast while following Zaire's requests. There was a buzz forming as people woke up and the sun started to warm the chilly wind.

"Don't space out on me. Here comes our first job" Zaire chided, pointing out a group of chuckling performers.

* * *

**Time Skip**

As the day progressed, Zaire taught Allen what makeup not to put onto the fire breathers, and how much makeup to put on the acrobats. She explained that the products were not to be used around fire, otherwise the performers face could catch on fire. Of course, she exaggerated and told Allen that they would _die_ if they wore the makeup, but Allen just snorted and passed her a clean brush for the next person.

"You never know." She warned.

Mana had visited them each time her got a break from the show. After the third break, he invited them to lunch, but Zaire quickly declined, saying they were busy. Allen moaned and complained, but Zaire was strict. Mana laughed and whispered in Allen's ear.

"Don't worry, I'll bring a snack back for you. Keep working." Mana smiled, and left, his dog trailing behind him.

"Nuh uh, don't get distracted. Charlie here has to be in the next show in minutes." Zaire said, pointing to the person receiving her work. Allen grumpily rubbed his stomach, but got back to work. Eventually, all the lessons that could be thought of were given, and Zaire didn't have any victims, er, performers to work on, so she allowed Allen to go too lunch. As Mana promised, he'd brought a snack, but a mere orange was not nearly enough to sate Allen's hunger. In fact, nothing at the circus could, but Allen had to make do with what he was given.

Unfortunately, lunch passed all too quickly, and Zaire shuffled him back to the big top to get back to work. When they got to their station, another show had just ended and the weary performers were filing in from the ring.

"Ah, I can't wait for the day to be over." Allen's ears tuned in to a conversation between two jugglers that were wiping away their sweat with rags.

"I know. It's been a long four days."

"We're lucky tonight's the last one."

"Do you know where the next location is?"

"Uh, I think it's somewhere in Spain."

"Hmm, I always have had a thing for Spanish women." Allen gagged at the thought of the stranger flirting with a women at all. He was gruff and covered in scratches all over his arms and face. His short hair was choppy and seemed hastily cut, perhaps an accident even. The top of his head was balding, but a few patches of fuzzy brown hair spotted the smooth tip.

Allen didn't think the other man didn't have much in the looks department either. They both looked like frequent drunks with mean attitudes, although, almost everyone in this circus did. He wasn't quite sure how they managed to perform with a smile.

"Hey, how many shows do we have left today." Allen refocused on their words, while washing the brushes.

"Well, I think we've got about nine more shows."

"Geez, they work us so hard. Let's get some food before we go back out." With that, the two men left the tent, chatting about their wages.

"Zaire. Why did you choose to work at the circus?" Allen asked curiously.

"My dad was the bearded lady here a couple years ago before he died. I just stuck with it."

"Your dad?"

"Do you honestly think every circus could go out and just happen to find a bearded lady? My dad just happened to be a very feminine cross-dresser." Zaire explained. Allen didn't quite know what to make of this information.

"Your mom?"

"I never met her. Apparently, my dad went through a phase and he decided to dress like a man again. Back then, he attracted all the ladies, or so he tells me. But then, once he had a child, he went back to his usual self, and my mom ditched him, leaving me with him."

"I'm sorry."

"Nah, it's not that bad. I figured that my mom must've been some shallow slut, and not really in love with my father. Otherwise, she would have let him be himself." Zaire shrugged and scanned the crowd for a person to fix up next.

"What about you kid? Who are your parents?" Allen stiffened, and reflexively looked at his left arm.

"I dunno. They're not important." Zaire gave him a sad look.

"I forgot. You told me when we met yesterday you were abandoned." Allen nodded slowly, straining his memory as far back as he could go to find a glimpse of his parents, but he had no luck.

"You can't remember them at all?" Zaire asked.

"No. But I don't care. I don't need them. I've survived all these years without them. In fact, I'm better off without them now." Allen huffed. Zaire didn't seem to agree, but a look from Allen caused her to become silent.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Allen saw something purple flutter around the tent. Allen gasped and jumped into alertness.

"What is it Red?"

"Er, I really need to go to the bathroom!" Allen covered, trying to keep an eye on the purple butterfly before it left.

"Um, okay? There's a latrine in the men's tent I think. At least, there's one in the women's tent so I assume-" Allen didn't let her continue before rushing away. Luckily, the Tease had spotted him and followed him out.

"I can't believe I forgot to report to Tyki! Tease, come here!" Allen said while running to the backside of the men's tent. The tease flew quickly next to him and stopped when he stopped. Allen let himself get a breath before standing up straight.

"Record this Tease." With the flap of a wing, a small recording device turned on and pointed at Allen's face.

"It's me, Allen. I apologize for not reporting sooner. I was distracted. I have found Mana Walker. I also succeeded in getting a job at the circus where he works. A more important matter: all the food that was not fruit has been ruined by water damage. God help me." Allen included the last part, in the hopes the Earl would send food later.

"Tyki, ask the Earl if he doesn't mind me killing a subhuman that works here. I plan on killing him after Mana. He irks me, and I want to see his blood." Allen spat. He was sure the Earl would allow him his fun.

Allen nodded at the Tease to signal his message was done. A brief flutter of acknowledgment was given before the butterfly flew off into the sky to give the report to Tyki, who would, in turn, report to the Earl.

When he came back, Zaire gave him an amused smirk.

"I assume you're relieved." She raised an eyebrow, but he brush away her questioning look. She giggled shortly, and then passed him a bag of trash. "Go take this to the dump."

Luckily, she had shown him where that was in her training, so he grabbed the bag of trash and trudged out of the tent. Allen turned left, already spotting the large dumpsters Zaire pointed out the day before. Allen lugged the bags over his right shoulder, since his left hand had little control. He'd hoped that during his training with the Noah, he would've been able to exercise it enough and gain control, but it always hung at his side like a log. It was hard to just curl his fingers and bend his elbow at the same time, never mind carrying things with it.

"Oi, Red!" Allen slung the bag into the dumpster, he turned around to spot Cosimo coming out of the ringmaster tent. Allen mentally face palmed. He forgot that Cosimo's tent was right next to the trash.

"Yes Ringmaster?"

"What're ya doin'?"

"I'm taking out the trash. Zaire told me to." Allen explained, using his best behavior to avoid trouble.

"Listen Monster, I don't need ya hangin' around mah performers and staff. I want ya to go an' unload the next shipment of food. It's behind the mess hall. Get it done before dinner." Cosimo spat in his direction and strode away, pulling a cigarette out of his breast pocket.

"Yes _Sir_." Allen muttered spitefully as Cosimo left. Allen decided he should tell Zaire before he went to do his task. Allen waited to make sure Cosimo was out of site before slipping into the big top tent.

"Ah, you're done. Next I need you to-"

"Zaire, I have a job assigned by the ringleader."

"Cosimo gave you a job?" She asked incredulously.

"Unfortunately." Zaire pursed her lips and looked at the makeup station.

"It'll be hard without an assistant, but I suppose you should get on that before Cosimo does something stupid. I'm going to have to talk to him about this." Allen sighed and left the tent without waiting for a goodbye. Allen easily spotted the mess hall where there was a steady stream of people entering for a late lunch and leaving. Allen walked past the crowd and went to the back, where there was a wagon of unloaded goods and a man leaning against it.

"I assume yer the one Cosimo sent ta unload the junk. Get on it then. I'll be back before dinner, and if it ain't done, I'm getting Cosimo on yer ass." The man grunted once and then left in a manner similar to Cosimo. Allen warily eyed the wagon. All the crates and bags were Allen's size or smaller, but it was going to be difficult, especially with his arm. _Might as well get to work._

Allen started with the smallest things first. Once he took them off the wagon, he took them over a wheeled platform that was labeled specifically for meats. There was another one labeled wheat and grains, and a third one for perishables, which Allen assumed were food that needed to be kept cool.

For hours, Allen struggled with pulling the load of the wagon and dragging them to the platforms. A dull throb started to pulse in his left arm, which wasn't used to such labor. His right arm was a bit better conditioned for the job, but only barely. Blisters were forming on his fingers and he received many splinters from the wooden crates. More than a few times was Allen smothered by the weight and crushed, but he forced himself to wiggle out from under the food. Luckily, Allen's training gave him practice in endurance.

Allen was suddenly reminded that maybe he could use his skills to make the job go faster. Allen began jumping and sprinting from the platforms to the wagon, becoming a blur when he wasn't burdened. Unfortunately, he found he could jump with the crates, and he was forced to continue walking. However, the trips back were much faster, and decreased his time spent there.

Allen was being constantly reminded of his hunger each time he saw a peak of the food. Delightful smells were drifting from the kitchen, which was right next to him the whole time. Allen's stomach rumbled without stopping, like an ongoing volcano.

* * *

Just as the sun was beginning to set, Allen finished. He slowly sunk to the ground in exhaustion and leaned against the large wheel of the wagon. In his mind, Allen was plotting all the various ways he could could kill Cosimo.

It was like this that Mana found him.

"Boy! Are you alright?" Allen opened one eye.

"Of course I am old man. What are you doing here?"

"I'm not old." Mana answered, ignoring the question.

"Is that gray hair I see?"

"It's a wig." Mana replied flatly. Mana was dressed in his clown attire, and wearing a wig sporting all the colors into a ring of color around a bald spot. One of unusual hair colors was a white puff on the right side of the wig. "My hair color is similar to yours." Mana explained. Allen would've rolled his eyes, but his stomach suddenly rumbled.

"You're hungry."

"I am."

"You should eat."

"I will."

"When?"

"I was planning on going now, but I'm talking to you instead, aren't I?" Mana grinned and walked over, holding out a hand. His dog trotted over and nudged Allen's left hand, urging him to take Mana's. Allen flinched and pushed himself up, not excepting Mana's help.

"The day's not over. Don't you have another show to go to?"

"I do, but Zaire told me Cosimo gave you a job so I came to check on you."

"I don't need your worry. Go do your job." Allen instructed, brushing past the clown. The dog chased after him and happily skipped next to him.

"Allen's taken a liking to you."

"I don't know why." Allen responded, looking at the dog with his name. Allen yipped and licked Allen's mitten, making the boy freeze in his place. The dog didn't seem to notice anything wrong, but continued to nuzzle Allen's hand, obviously asking to be pet. Allen nervously pulled away his hand and walked faster. He didn't want Mana to see the panic on his face. _What if the mitten fell off again? What would Mana think? He's obviously disgusted, everyone is. I'm not cruel enough to make him have to be nice to me and force himself to look at my arm._

Allen didn't look back as he escaped Mana's gaze. However, Allen the dog followed after him, easily keeping pace. Eventually, Allen broke out into a run, and the dog followed suit. Allen found himself at the place Mana bumped into him and ruin his food supply. Allen got tired of running and rested there. The dog caught on and shuffled over. When Allen sat down on the ground, the small dog came close.

"You're trouble, dog." The dog barked and came closer. Suddenly, without giving Allen a chance to pull away, the dog bit hit mitten and pulled it off of his hand. Allen yelled, but the dog silenced him by licking his fingers suddenly, and pressing it's forehead to his nails. Allen gently scratched the dog's head, which caused it to close it's eyes and contentedly stick it's tongue out.

Allen began to tremble as felt a calm wave wash over him. He suddenly felt happiness spreading throughout his body. Suddenly, Allen smiled and a single tear dripped down his face.

Dogs were honest and loyal. Now he knew they were also good at judging character. They didn't care what you looked like. Allen was happy to realize this.

He began to eagerly pet the dog, scratching it's ears and chest with both hands. The dog flopped over onto it's back and let Allen rub it's belly. Allen quietly laughed at it's antics. Allen's smile slowly died off as he realized he needed to go get food. Allen gave one last pat on the dog's stomach and then stood up. He shoved his hand into the mitten and looked around, making sure no one saw anything.

When Allen entered the mess hall, Mana was already sitting at a table with two bowls. He looked up when Allen barked and raced over to him. Mana smiled and waved Allen over.

"I got your food for you, boy." Allen shuffled over and warily sat down next to Mana. He was waiting for questions. Mana was probably going to ask about where he went or why he reacted like he did. Surprisingly, he didn't, but continued to silently eat his food.

It wasn't long before Mana finished (of course, Allen was already done).

"I have to get back to the show. I think I heard the buzzer go off. I think Zaire would appreciate it if you went back to help her." Allen nodded. Mana smiled and whistled for the dog to follow him. Once they were gone, Allen sighed and went to put his bowl away. He wouldn't be able to have seconds for hours.

When Allen left the tent, he was immediately confronted by Cosimo.

"Red!" Allen jumped and dodged a bottle that was thrown at him. "Boy, ya didn't finish tha job!"

"But sir, I did."

"Yeh didn't put the shit away! When Alf got back there ta pack up tha wagon, tha food was sittin' out in tha sun!" Allen assumed this 'Alf' was the man who was at the wagon when he arrived.

"I wasn't instructed, sir."

"I'll instruct ya!" Cosimo grabbed him by the hair and dragged him to his tent. All the while, Allen squirmed, but stayed quiet so no one would come. In the tent, Cosimo threw the boy into the ground. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife Allen had seen some of the performers using in the show. Allen scrambled to get up and out of the way, but Cosimo growled and stabbed Allen's left arm, cutting through the material of Allen's long sleeve shirt. Allen gasped from the pain and jerked his arm away, dislodging the knife. He wasn't going to put up with this.

Allen jumped back onto a desk and crouched, ready to jump behind Cosimo and take the knife in his hands.

"Lookie there! I've got a real demon in ma tent. Imma teach you to behave, Red. Yer gonna learn who tha boss around here." Cosimo growled and threw the knife with amazing precision. Allen was not expecting the knife to lodge itself into his leg, so when he took to long to jump out of the way, it buried itself into his thigh, making his landing awkward and painful. Allen accidentally yelped and collapsed. Cosimo took this advantage and began punching the boy's face and reopening painful cuts from the night before. Blood began to stain the neck of Allen's shirt, which caused Allen to become enraged for some reason. Maybe because Road had taken care of these horrid clothes; clothes that Allen made so many terrifying memories from. Although Allen would have loved to forget about his life before the Noah, they were the only reason Allen withstood harsh training. They made him who he was.

These thoughts filled his mind as he blocked Cosimo's fist and inched away. He kicked Cosimo squarely in the chest and then ran as fast as he could. The Earl still hadn't given him permission to kill Cosimo yet, so he wouldn't.

Allen realized that it was still early, and the shows weren't even over yet, but he felt tired, so he slipped away to go to the animal's tent again. Because it was only the evening, people were still there, maintaining the animal's health and hunger, so Allen had to sneak by them to get to his makeshift bed.

When he finally squeezed into the spot he slept in the night before, Allen found it surprisingly easy to fall asleep. In fact, the moment he closed his eyes, his mind shut down and he fell asleep. However, instead of drifting off into dreamland, he appeared in a room with a checkered floor and a table filled with food. Road was happily sitting in a chair, grinning at Allen.

"Hiya Allen-kun!" Allen rolled his eyes. That's why he was sleepy. Road had been trying to pull him into her dream world, but she was tactful enough to give him time to get into a bed instead suddenly collapsing with everyone watching.

Road was staring with distaste at Allen's clothes and face.

"You're hurt."

"I know." Allen sighed and walked over to the table. After a brief glance to Road, Allen sat down and began busily eating.

"Why are you hurt?"

"Because I had to act like a defenseless kid."

"Normal kids don't get as hurt as you do." Road pointed out.

"Normal kids don't have a freakish arm like I do." Allen explained. A spark of anger appeared in Road's eye.

"Is that what happened?" Allen nodded, because his mouth was full of freshly cooked rolls and steak.

"I asked Millennie if I could kill the man who did it, but I haven't gotten a reply yet." Allen told Road.

"I doubt he cares. It's just a little subhuman. You follow the rules too much, Allen-kun."

"And you break them too much."

"True. I'm not even supposed to be doing this, but I can't last too long without my precious little brother." Road grinned, resting her head on her folded hands. "So, Allen, have you found Mana yet?"

"Yes." Road seemed surprised.

"Already?"

"It wasn't that hard. He literally ran into me. I lost most of my packed food because of that man." Allen grumbled the last part, still feeling sore from the incident. He wasn't one to forgive a grudge over food so easily.

"Allen-kun, just remember, he's insane. He used to be normal, but he went crazy after he betrayed the Noah. Don't believe anything he says." Road warned, giving Allen a sad face.

"He doesn't say anything in the first place. Besides, he'll be dead within the week." Allen assured her, while neatly wiping his mouth. Road looked at the table and was surprised to see everything was already gone.

"You must have been hungry." She commented.

"It's torture there."

"I'm sure. How do you get food if you lost all of it?" Road asked, walking over to sit down in Allen's lap.

"I work at a circus now. They feed us breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but it's obviously not enough for me."

"Nothing is." Road laughed. "Anyway, do you want to do something together? Your body is resting, so you don't have to sleep."

"I don't have anything in mind."

"We could play-"

"If your next sentence has the words doll, hide and seek, or dress up, I refuse." Allen interrupted, giving Road a knowing look. She sighed momentarily, but then her face lit up.

"How about a Tea Party!"

"No."

"Why not?"

"If I play your games, I will come out of here even more injured than I am now." Road puffed out her bottom lip and pouted. Suddenly, she jumped out of Allen's lap and snapped. A grand piano appeared out of no where.

"Remember when you played the piano a couple days ago? Play for me again!" Allen groaned, but he deemed it safer than her games. He also was itching to play again.

"Road, I don't know any songs."

"What about the one last week?"

"I can barely remember it. I just made it up on the spot."

"Than make up another song on the spot."

"It'll take a while."

"I have patience."

"Really? I never knew." Allen smirked. He quickly dodged a candle that was flung at his head.

"Meanie. Just play the piano." Allen cracked his knuckles and sat down on the piano bench. He pressed a random key, and suddenly a song started to form in his head. In several minutes, Allen had already created the melody. He wasn't quite sure he was doing it. Half an hour later, the song was finished and he played the whole thing, chords and all. This song wasn't as cheerful as his last one, but it was fast paced and very high pitched. Road cheered when he performed.

"You're amazing Allen."

"Er, Thank you? I don't know how I'm doing it."

"You're gifted."

"Maybe." Suddenly, Allen yawned. "Road I've been working all day. Can you let my mind sleep with my body?" Road immediately frowned and her shoulders sagged.

"Fine. I'll be visiting you soon." Allen nodded and stood up. Road's door appeared next to the piano for Allen to walk through.

"Good luck Allen." Road watched the doors close behind Allen. "You'll need it to face Mana's kindness." She whispered sadly.

* * *

**Just think, after this month, I won't be exceedingly busy anymore. One more month of business... one... more...**

* * *

**MercenaryCrime:** Heheh, yeah. Soon. Well, here a belated update. Not too much happens this chapter, but I'm excited for next chapter.

**Dana:** Teehee. You know the saying, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder"? You think that applies to updates? "Absence makes the chapters taste delicious-er." That's a thing right?

**Snipperita:** It _is_ a common thing seen in reviews, but I like getting the reminders to get off my lazy butt and write more awesome chapters more often.

**God of Cake:** I like your username :D

MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Erm, ignore that delighted, evil laughter. That wasn't anything.

(Allen, calm down, the reviewers are getting suspicious. Just tone down the gore a little bit)

**Sarvajith:** Kyaaaaa! (You said my name :3)

Zaire was actually an idea I got from a motherly Mana, though I've seen an OC similar to her in another story. I did my best not to copy that writer, and I think I did pretty good. I can't remember the name of the other story, but the name of the OC was named Raine. I named her Zaire because I happened to be studying Africa in my AP Human Geo class at school, and the name popped into my head while I was creating her.

Allen will be cuter sometime in this story. Eventually he'll become a little gentleman, but I don't want to spoil too much. :P

I was thinking that Allen couldn't get treatment while at the circus, because it's a poor system, and no one really cares about him except for Mana and Zaire. He's injured again in this chapter... Well, rest assured, he's not going to be hurt for a while.

*mustnotspoilstory*mustnotspoilstory*mustnotspoils tory*mustnotspoilstory*

OMG, DID I JUST KILL YOU!? I'M SO SORRY, WHAT DO I DO? SOMEONE CALL A DOCTOR! I DON'T THINK PEOPLE ARE SUPPOSED TO TURN GREEN AFTER EATING COOKIES! Unless you're an alien...

**HikoHiro:** I feel like I've betrayed you by taking so long to update. I extend a personal apology to you.

I like to think of the normal person I this story, so it seemed the normal person is afraid of what she doesn't know.

It's mostly unexpected. I think it'll appeal to some audiences more than my usual crowd. Yeah, that sounds accurate. *shrugs*

Did it lower _through_ the ground? I had that problem a little while ago. My family was really annoyed when the chair fell out of the ceiling into the middle of the living room. I usually ended up on the floor in my room with a sore butt. (snicker)

For a second there, I read "a vest made of explosive materials" instead of "a vest made of expensive materials." neither of them would have fit the story... Why are we talking about a coat? I don't know.

I am quite proud of myself. Especially since I've decided this story will become a trilogy. It's going to be a lot of work, but I plan (hope) to be finished sometime next year.

**ZeroHour23:** That is a review. I appreciate this review. Therefore, you shall receive cookie.** *gives you a cookie***

**Scourge From BloodClan:** I'm glad! I hope you enjoyed the cookie, I made it with all my heart. (Sorry if it tasted a bit bloody, my heart was rather hard to clean out and disinfect properly.)

**Izzy26:** *Evil grin* I'm really liking how people are responding to Zaire. I wrote her so people would be shocked and angry, and it happened, so yay! It means I'm succeeding in life.

Allen hasn't beaten Cosimo up... yet.

**Nami Heartfilia:** You sound like an adorable person. Just thought I should mention that. Actually, I think you're a "preetty" person. :D

**KhaalidaNyx:** Be afraid. Be very afraid. Actually, maybe I should be giving this advise to Allen...

* * *

**So, I'm going to make a list of reasons I was late with this chapter. You can read it if you'd like, but if you're like me, and hate excuses and just want to read more story than author babbling, then skip it.**

**So, I have marching band practice on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thurdays, football games on Fridays, and now competitions on Saturdays; I go to church on Sundays; my stepdad is now looking for a job; I will be getting my driving permit in a month, so I'm studying up on driving stuff; I have an annoying, impossibly hard AP Human Geo class; my mom has kidney stones; my little sister broke out into a spontaneous rash, and no one knows why or how; I just found out my neighbor has Diabetes; I lost the thumbdrive/flashdrive containing all the files of my already written and incomplete stories.**

**So yeah, September just hasn't been my month.**

* * *

**Abyss-chan out~!**


End file.
